It is difficult to put into words how much the Clarion has meant to me over the course of the last three years. Coming out of a tumultuous experience with high school journalism, showing up to the Clarion meeting that very first Monday of my freshman year felt like a daring leap, one that I am so glad I’ve made.

I’ve had a lot of roles at the Clarion since that fateful Monday, I’ve been a writer, a Copyeditor, the News editor and now Opinions editor and I have loved every minute of it. I’ve written about everything from Fat Bear Week to gun violence, gotten to interview fascinating people and help be a voice for students through what has turned out to be a very eventful three years. 

The Clarion has opened my mind and taught me so, so much. Nothing has been more educational and fulfilling than learning from my fellow editors and writers, especially Ana Julia Rodrigues Alves, Riley Laub, Emma Lawson, Liam Piper, Jackie Michel, the ever-faithful opinions writer Hampton Terrell and the many other writers and editors who I’ve had the joy of working with the last three years.

You all have taught me so much about what it means to be a writer, journalist and activist. I am in awe of all of you, your dedication and eloquence inspire me every day.

Being a part of the return to print, and seeing how much the community has responded, has been one of the great joys of the last three years and would not have been possible without the work of those amazing people. We’ve covered some serious changes at the university, from COVID restrictions to the encampment and the recent budget cuts, just to name a few. 

I feel incredibly lucky to have found the Clarion. It became my safe space, as well as an introduction to the challenges of the real world, and I am so fortunate to have experienced it alongside my fellow writers and friends.

As I look ahead in my final days as an undergraduate student at DU, I am realizing how incredibly influential the Clarion has been for my college experience. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Clarion Luncheon celebrating 125 years of student journalism at DU. Sitting there with alumni who wrote for the Clarion almost fifty years ago, I had the sudden realization that fifty years from now that will be me. Fifty years from now, more than the classes, more than the dining hall food, more than the snowy walks to class, I will be thinking about the Clarion and all it taught me. And how proud I am to have been a part of it.