To preface this, I am not a writer. I never have been, and until the April magazine, I never imagined I would be. I have only been a part of the staff here at The Northerner for a year, however in that year I have been able to do so many things I would have never imagined being possible. I want to take this opportunity to share three of those things. 

1. Making a documentary – Last semester I was attempting to enjoy a Cincinnati Reds game with my then girlfriend, now fiancee, when I checked my phone and saw a text from Editor-in-Chief Emily Sisk telling me she had an idea. That was the start of what would end up being the most ambitious project I have done during my time in college. Emily and I  went all around Newport and Covington talking with anyone that knew information about Newport’s history. We spent long nights in the newsroom working on it, trying to figure out why the audio sounded messed up and truly pouring out a lot to make this as good as we could. Looking back on it, I truly do not know how we managed to finish it during a semester when I took six classes on top of working in the First Year Hub. However at the end of it, I was able to look at the finished product and say this is a project I am proud of. 
2. Becoming a sports broadcaster – I love baseball, so when Josh Northcutt (who did radio for some of the basketball games) asked me if I wanted to do radio for the NKU baseball team, I agreed in an instant. Since starting, Josh and I have done games with 20-30 mph winds, heavy rain and sunshine, however each game I learn more about how to improve and have enjoyed every second of it. We also had the chance to travel down to Knoxville to cover the NKU vs Tennessee baseball game in what will maybe go down as the highlight of my college experience.
3. A wild 24 hours – During the NKU basketball season, there was one point where the women’s team played against Kentucky on a Thursday and the next day the men’s team played Purdue. So of course as a student journalist you go to both. For this, Jakob Staley, Matt Supinger, Alex Perez and I all went to both games and every second of it was incredible. From just getting closer to the other sports editors, to the games and atmospheres everything was super fun. Both Kentucky and Purdue treated us amazingly, this was in a way my “welcome to The Northerner” moment, and it taught me a lot of skills that I was able to translate into my future of working in journalism. 

Finally I just wanted to give special thanks, first to Emily. Thanks for forcing me to apply while in Newscast Production together. You have been phenomenal to work with and you will do great things at KET. Next up Emma Senn: last semester she was a great co-editor, and I don’t think I could have done the position without her help. Lastly Erin Senn: she will be amazing as the new video editor and I can not wait to see the content she is able to produce.