I found a family at The Butler Collegian.
As I round out my tenure as editor-in-chief and we start the process of selecting the next person to take the role, it is important for me to acknowledge exactly what I have had for the past four years.
I have a group of peers that have supported me in everything I have done.
My fellow editors—this year, more than ever—have seen me at my highest points and at my lowest.
They have been there for me as I panic over job searches. They have helped me manage my life, sometimes reminding me that I have to go to class.
These staff members have become my saving grace. At the end of the day, I know that Fairbanks 210 will always be full of people who are supportive, loving and kind.
What we do is not always easy.
I spent more time in that office than I have in my own home this year.
My email inbox fills up faster than I can manage when I’m trying to gather notes for a story.
I have spent nights awake wondering if I should have written the beginning of a piece differently.
When it gets overwhelming, it has been good to know I’m not in it alone.
If you’re going to be facing an uphill climb, there is no better group to hike with.
They are the most talented people I have ever had the chance to work with.
At the end of the day, after the dozens of awards this staff has won, this group has the drive to keep doing better.
The staff’s dedication and passion to journalism, to its paper, to the School of Journalism and Butler University is unmatched.
Week after week, I have had the chance to grow as a person and  a journalist alongside talented writers, photographers, editors and designers.
I joined The Collegian because it felt like the right thing to do. Now, as I think about a life outside that office, it feels wrong.
I cannot possibly put into words how much everyone has meant to me.
To my coworkers and advisers I have had the chance to work with—you have changed my life.
You have inspired me. You have kept me going when things get hard. You have kept me from drowning, and you have helped me find a family at Butler.
And I couldn’t be happier with that crazy, dysfunctional and dynamic family.