Dear Readers,

I thought long and hard about how to write this.

First, I went for a Dr. Seuss-style poem about my time at the Clarion, but it turns out that a lot of newspaper terms don’t rhyme very well. Clarion… agrarian? Pescetarian? Bit of a stretch. Second was a comparison between the Clarion and a 1960s Lincoln Continental I almost bought in high school—also a bit of a stretch, though that one was going somewhere for a minute, I think. But then I just realized that any experience resulting in me writing a poem or a metaphorical mess deserves simplicity and sincerity. So, I just want to say that this has been the most rewarding experience of my life, and that I truly can’t believe it’s all over.

It really was awesome running this paper, and I think the work we’ve done shows that better than any Dr. Seuss-style poem or Lincoln Continental comparison. So at this point, I think that all I really have left to do is thank everyone that helped make this experience such a great one: Meg McIntyre, my unbelievably talented executive editor who saw this paper’s potential with me and stepped up every single day to make it the best it could be; the Clarion’s editors, who take on changes like champions and always go the extra mile to integrate those changes swimmingly; our writers, who fill our website and newspaper every single week with collections of words that could never be replaced; our photographers and cartoonists, who complement those words with equally wonderful visuals; our social media team, who share countless stories with class and efficiency to readers around the world; our business team, who help clients grow in Colorado and beyond while keeping our employees happy and paid; Andrew Matranga, our faculty advisor who encouraged me to join the Clarion in the first place and continues to serve as a great mentor to me; my friends, for understanding that I had to spend every weekend over the past year meticulously editing stories; my family, for being supportive of my career path in a world full of people who think journalism majors are insane; my girlfriend Hayley, who lovingly put up with me 24/7 through the good and bad times that come with dating a guy who runs a newspaper; and last but not least, Jillian Queri and Kellsie Brannen, the Clarion’s new leaders who I know will do a fantastic job running this organization over the next year.

That’s all, folks. it’s time for me to move on, graduate and see what waits beyond the red brick paths of DU. Thank you for reading, and go Pios!

Best,

Connor W. Davis