Senior send-off: Follow your interests, no matter how they look on paper

Photo by Julia Razzante

I joined the copy section of The Hofstra Chronicle during my freshman year of college because of my friend Antonia, who I thought was incredibly cool. I have always been interested in editing, and once Antonia joined, I knew I wanted to follow in her footsteps. After a semester of staff editing, I was brought on as an assistant copy chief. At this time, we were doing layouts remotely, so I didn’t get to meet the people who hired me until the end of the semester, when we all stood in a lecture hall six feet apart from each other, staring at the faces we had only seen over Zoom. There, I met Odessa and Liz, who welcomed me with open arms. Since then, I have had the privilege of moving up to copy chief, and I have worked with many iterations of the copy team, all of whom have been incredibly warm and insightful.

I am often asked why I joined the newspaper on campus, because it has nothing to do with what takes up the rest of my time during the week. I want to go into medicine, so in between editing articles, I am usually studying, shadowing doctors or working at one of the many jobs I have had over the years. The Chronicle offers a space for me that is free of stress, where I can come and put my other thoughts aside to focus on the task at hand.

Most advice blogs for pre-health students say your extracurriculars should be focused on clinical experience, research and pre-health organizations. And while this is true, making time in your extracurriculars for things you are passionate about is important, no matter how out of place they might look on your resume. You will never regret joining something you have an interest in, but you will regret missing out on something just because you thought it wasn’t a good use of your time.

If there is something you think might be fun, try it out! Don’t let people tell you that it’s a waste of time or that you should be doing something more related to your field. It is important to take time for the things you value. Making your whole college experience about getting to the next step in your career is a mistake. College is the time to explore and learn all you can about different fields. And when you apply for that job or that grad school program, you will be able to bring a unique perspective and be a well-rounded candidate.

I want to thank all the people who have made this experience a great one. Thank you to Antonia for introducing me to The Chronicle and for being the best person to live in the attic with. To our past members of the copy team – Odessa, Liz, Vis and Kayla – thank you for being so great to work with. And to our current team – Antonia, Nell and Annabel – spending Monday nights with you has been such a joy. I am so proud of you all. I have loved every heated debate about capitalization that we have had. Thank you to all our EICs and managing editors over the years for setting a great example of how a team should be led. And to our future copy team next semester – Nell, Josie and Madeline – I know you will do great things with this paper. Nell, every weird edit we told you had to wait to implement until you were in charge – now is the time. Go nuts.

Thank you to my girlfriend Grace, who always waits up for me when I stumble home at 1 a.m. on Mondays. Sorry about that one Valentine’s Day when I had layout. Thanks to my parents and grandparents, who instilled in me a love of reading from a young age – you are the reason I am where I am today, and I am so grateful.

I know The Chronicle will continue to be a place where everyone is welcome and can bring a unique perspective to the table. Environments like these don’t come around all that often, so take advantage of your time here. Learn what you can from everyone around you, and don’t take your Monday nights for granted.