Signing off, but not letting go

As my time in WVU broadcast courses comes to end, I have found myself looking back at everything that has happened in those three semesters. Our final show recording was bittersweet because I have grown so much as a journalist and even more as a person during those three semesters. 

I’ve had the privilege of covering stories that matter, collaborating with teammates who inspire me and discovering the confidence that comes from stepping outside my comfort zone. I came into WVU News the first time wanting to only do sports and not even wanting to look at other beats and eventually became so interested in covering stories that did not involve sports at all. That experience has opened my eyes to things that I did not look at before. 

The friendships that I have made over the years while taking WVU News twice and now West Virginia Today are some that I will always remember and will continue to be friends with for the rest of my life. I still talk to my friends from the first two semesters and make time to see them or call them when I can. The better friends you are with your classmates the better the experience is. Everyone then wants everyone else to succeed and we celebrate each other’s successes, support one another through stressful weeks and learn to laugh through the chaos that comes with producing a show. 

For West Virginia Today this semester, I feel like the friendship I have formed with reporter and director Jeff Boggess in particular has made our lives so much easier within the control room. Jeff being the director and myself being the technical director, the ability for us to be on the same page and knowing each other better makes it much easier to function on a high level. There have been multiple times over the course of taping where I am helping him and he is helping me, and I feel like having that friendship makes this possible. Having each other’s back during show day makes me less stressed out and feel more comfortable. 

I will be forever grateful for my classmates and experiences that West Virginia Today has given me over this past semester. I am looking forward to graduating and finding my right spot in the workforce but I will always be jealous of the students that still have these experiences to look forward to. I want to say thank you to Professor Marra, Dean Dahlia, Professor Trinone, and Professor Scatterday for always pushing me to achieve more and always helping me along the journey of my college career. The skills I have learned through this experience not only have helped me as a journalist but also in other roles I have outside of school. The experiences I have been through will help me as I continue to grow into a better journalist.