So long, Farewell, goodbye Saint Mary's

A Goodbye Letter from the Editor-in-Chief.

Image c/o Marcus Soller

By Madison Sciba
Editor-in-Chief 

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When I joined the Collegian my sophomore year at Saint Mary’s I never thought that I would become the Editor-in-Chief. I was hired as a sports reporter but soon realized that it was not me. After writing for every section of the newspaper, I eventually landed on opinion. For the past two years I have been writing opinion articles on everything from Disney remakes to our culture of glorifying true crime. I always like to tell people that my job on the paper is as a “professional complainer.” 

As a sophomore trying out journalism for the first time, I never thought that I would become the Editor-in-Chief. I joined because I loved to write and wanted to do something other than rowing. Never did I think that I would be spending a good portion of my senior year fighting to keep the Collegian functioning. The 2022/2023 school year was a difficult one and we came very close to losing the Collegian as a student organization at Saint Mary’s. The majority of the 2023/2024 school year was spent applying for funding, trying to figure out how to publish a newspaper, and just getting the Collegian functioning. 

Last school year we only had one print edition and were barely able to publish articles online. This semester the Collegian successfully published five print editions with this one being the sixth. We have partnered with the school radio station KSMC, the Foundationalist, and the American Journalism classes to get more students involved with campus journalism. We had an extremely successful rebranding which included new logos and an update to the website. 

This school year is coming to an end and graduation is approaching. With that I have great pride in how this school year has gone for the Collegian. I have strong faith in Andrew and his ability to lead the Collegian as the next Editor-in-Chief. I just know that he will continue the work we have started and will continue to improve the Collegian. 

I would like to thank a few people who really made this year of the Collegian possible. Dr. Nolan Higdon was an incredible staff advisor and was really an essential part of revitalizing the Collegian. His dedication to student journalism and willingness to fight for the Collegian has really meant the world to me and the rest of the team. Lori Erokan, the administrative assistant for the Communications department, whenever something was needed or a random question appeared, Lori was always there to give answers and provide support. We could not have had a successful year without the help and support of Lori and the Saint Mary’s Communications department. Finally I would like to thank Jen Herzog from Student Involvement and Leadership. I know I can be a bit of a pain with my constant emails, but Jen was really an essential part of getting the Collegian back up and running. Whenever questions arose about funding or club status, Jen was there to answer and provide support. 

To the Saint Mary’s Community, I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to leave my mark here at Saint Mary’s. I really found a place among the other writers at the Collegian and without it I don’t know where I would be today. Writing articles has become such an important part of my life that I hope to keep writing for papers after graduation. 

Thank you to everyone who made this year possible and I wish the best of luck to next year's staff, hoping that they have an even better year than we did.  

  

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