By the time I arrived at the University of Denver, I had been locked in a long-standing fight with the feeling of intangibility. Something known to many of our staff, but perhaps not to many of you, is that for many years I was a homeschooled only child. This, combined with the rapid digitalization of human social interaction that occurred between 2020 and 2021, resulted in the feeling that I had not yet done anything that really mattered. Everything I said or did could be easily deleted or forgotten.
It wasn’t until my second year at the University of Denver that I found a space where I could truly create something. I began to write for the Clarion in the Fall Quarter of 2022, and thanks to a recommendation from Annabelle Kiely, without whom I’m positive I could not have survived the last several years, and a chance given to me by former Editor-in-Chief Ana Ortega, I was able to join this amazing team in the following Winter Quarter.
Ana was the brilliant mind behind the UNIFY section, the creation of which I was — and still am — honored to have had a hand in. To see the section flourishing two years later, still creating an impact on our community and lifting up the stories of our fellow students, is a gift.
The Clarion has been unlike any other student organization to me because I have been able to witness this impact in real time. I have seen what our work can do for the people we care about; the validation and dignity that come with having someone tell your story. Now, thanks to the efforts of our amazing staff, I can hold the physical manifestation of this work in my own hands.
The Clarion is something that predates us and, with any luck, will far outlive us. The opportunity to work in an organization that has allowed me to make something good — something that lasts — has done more for me than I can possibly describe. I can only hope that the work we have done, and the work that I know the Clarion will continue to do, will have even a fraction of the impact on our community that this publication has had on me.
