The Clarion was the first organization I ever joined at DU, and it was probably the only one I was actually a consistent member of. I had no idea what I was getting into when I walked into that first meeting on that September Monday night in the Driscoll Underground. Even though I didn’t end up working in journalism, the near three years I spent as a writer and editor for the Clarion taught me so much. I would not have gotten as far as I have in my current field without the experience I had from the Clarion.

But even better were the people. To this day, I am still close friends with so many people I met working for the Clarion and I don’t know what I would have done—or would do—without all of them. Not to mention the Illegal Pete’s addiction that definitely started during production nights.

Good journalism in all its forms is so important right now and it’s great to see the Clarion continuing on the tradition. Here’s to the next 120 years!

Madeline Zann has spent the last two and a half years since graduating from DU working in Colorado politics. Her current role is as a staffer on Sen. Michael Bennet’s presidential campaign.