“Since enrolling in school here four years ago, I’ve been a staff writer for The Buchtelite. During that time, I’ve read several farewell columns written by staff members and friends. Each time, I wondered what I’d write when it was my turn It is now my turn and we’re about to find out together.”
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Since enrolling in school here four years ago, I’ve been a staff writer for The Buchtelite. During that time, I’ve read several farewell columns written by staff members and friends. Each time, I wondered what I’d write when it was my turn

It is now my turn and we’re about to find out together.

Reflecting on the experiences of the past four years, it’s amazing how much I’ve grown as a person and a writer. From interviewing head football coach J.D. Brookhart and former Zips linebacker Jay Rohr in an empty press room in the bowls of Rhodes Arena in preparation for my first story in October 2005 to sitting among staff members from USA Today and other national media outlets in Portland, Ore., for a postgame news conference last month, my college memories will be forever linked to the pages of this newspaper.

A handful of teachers, friends and family members are the reason two binders full of clippings from these pages currently rest on a chair in my home. To them, I’d like to sincerely say thank you.

Sitting in the stands as a fan at Detroit’s Ford Field in December 2005 watching the football team claim its first-ever Mid-American Conference Championship, I never dreamed that in two short years I’d become this newspaper’s seniors sports writer.

In that role the past two years, I’ve covered UA football from high above Ohio Stadium, Cleveland Browns Stadium, Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome and the Rubber Bowl. My coverage of the men’s basketball team brought with it weekly stops at Rhodes Arena’s press row, multiple trips to press row at Quicken Loans Arena for MAC Tournament action and a courtside seat inside Portland’s Rose Arena to report on the team’s participation in the biggest spectacle in college sports, the NCAA Tournament.

While those on-the-job perks would excite any college sports fan, the job would lose its luster without the satisfaction of knowing that members of the campus community – many of whom I will never know – valued my work enough to take time out of their day to read it. That’s the biggest compliment you can give a journalist, so whether you’ve read many of my stories and columns or just this one, thank you.

I’d also like to thank the current and former UA coaches, student-athletes and administrators with whom I’ve developed a working relationship with over the years for their time and respect.

It’s only appropriate to end my final piece in The Buchtelite by stating what I’ve wanted to shout while covering the school’s athletics teams over the years, but have refrained from doing in the interest of objectivity and professionalism.

Go Zips!

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