I was the kid who read the newspaper when I was 10.
And when I started at St. Thomas University in fall 2016, I knew I wanted to see my name in The Aquinian, not because I was doing something cool, but because I wrote a 500-word article that made a difference.
At the time, I didn’t know how many hours I would spend working on the paper or how many times I would smile when I saw my published work. I didn’t expect to see my first and second drag show or meet like-minded journalists who turned out to be some of my best friends.
Three years ago, I didn’t know that in journalism, per cent is two words and “show, don’t tell” is law.
But out of my time came stories about women’s marches, sexual assault on campus, eating disorders and elections. Whenever somebody told me my work “shed a much-needed light” on a topic or “how much it meant” to them, I was reminded of the power of journalism.
There are many reasons I’m a journalist. I love listening to people talk about how their mom’s love of Latin-American love songs inspired them to become a musician. I love running to catch a bus downtown to cover a protest. I love going through photos at 11 p.m. and finding the perfect shot out of 400. And I love publishing stories that make people stop reading for a second and think, “That’s interesting.”
At their best, stories can let people know they’re not alone. They can show someone all sides of the story. They can change someone’s mind.
Campus news isn’t just about book releases and lectures.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work as part of the well-oiled machine of The Aquinian as a reporter, photo editor and layout editor. I’ve helped put the paper together. Not to mention, I had the opportunity to work with this year’s Editor-in-Chief and managing editor, Sarah Morin and Cassidy Chisholm, who managed to get enough sleep to mildly function, write stories the day before we sent the paper to the printer and still managed to buy the editors coffee when we needed it. The new managing editor Jerry-Faye Flatt and I are ready to continue that and push ourselves even further for the STU community if we can. It’s an insanity that could only be born from love.
We hired a team of editors who are not only talented writers and editors but also come from three different countries – excluding Canada. I encourage you to approach them with hot news tips, questions or concerns.
Or you can send me an email and we can have a lovely conversation in the Great Hall over a cup of tea or coffee or whatever beverage you prefer.
I have one goal for next year.
I want to start live-tweeting more and posting live updates on Instagram stories. We want to be students’ first source for campus and local news.
We want to be there for you.
