At the beginning of the semester, when I became the Editor-in-Chief for the Cleveland Stater, I felt that I had a lot to prove. Not just to the people around me, my friends and peers, but to myself too. I can recall a dozen different times I was told that I would never be the Editor-in-Chief for the Stater, that it would always be someone else, it made me grow quite the chip on my shoulder.

Even as I walked onto the stage to accept an award for being the Editor-in-Chief, as my adviser told me “Congratulations mate, you deserve it,” I was doubtful. It’s only now, as I look back at what we as a team did with the Cleveland Stater in spring 2024 that I am truly proud.

To me, there are several standout stories and events from the semester. The first was when President Laura Bloomberg, Ph.D., was announced as a candidate in the University of Minnesota’s presidential search. The day it was announced we jumped all over the story. We didn’t break the story, but we were close. A few weeks later, when it was announced that Bloomberg would not be going to Minnesota, we did break that news.

Another story that stands out to me is the Notre Dame college closure. Annie Gonyea, the reporter who wrote the story, and Riley Roliff, her editor, did an amazing job at getting the news up and out quickly.

I’m so proud of the things that my team has done that have been done correctly.

However, I think that there was a lot we could have done better. I have to be frank and admitt that I also think I failed in ways. I think in particular I could have pushed the team harder, because they were so capable.

In any case, despite what I would call a failure on my end, I am proud of what we did in spring 2024. I had a great team and a fantastic adviser. These final semesters at Cleveland State made me realize that I have met some of the best people I am ever going to meet.

I have made amazing friends over the past few years too, a couple of whom I believe will be lifelong companions. And, despite the ups and downs, I always felt I was moving forward.

I hope that you, dear reader, can relate when I say that even in our failures we can find lessons that will improve us as people. I know I learned a tremendous amount from my time as The Cleveland Stater's Editor-in-Chief.

To the next EIC, I have a few words of advice. Be assertive. Everyone around you wants to succeed and see the Cleveland Stater flourish, so be assertive, be decisive. Take a breather. It’s incredibly easy to get lost in being Editor-in-Chief and fail to see the excellence around you. Take time to just look around at what you’re doing, and be proud of it.

To all of you, our readers, thank you for supporting us and reading the Stater. It has been an honor to serve as its Editor-in-Chief these past few months.

I’ll end with a quote from the novel “The Lost Metal,” by Brian Sanderson, “He stretched into the wind. And into the stars. And all endless things.”

Thank you, and goodbye.