What an interesting 18 months it has been to get to this point of my student-media career, as I officially become the next editor-in-chief of The Oswegonian. I stress this was not my original plan when I stepped foot on campus as a freshman here at SUNY Oswego. I did not know that the college had a newspaper my first semester and honestly never expected to join once I found out my friend was writing for them. 

I had a change of heart once I found out the benefits of AP style for an aspiring broadcaster and started to form friendships with some of the writers. There was a make-or-break moment the first Friday of my sophomore year. The Oswegonian general interest meeting was at 5 p.m. that day, and I had just finished a long day of classes and taking an afternoon swim in Lake Ontario. My friend Aaron told me he was going to the meeting and said I had to go; a decision had to be made. 

Eventually, I reluctantly made the trek to Marano Campus Center, to a crowded classroom on the second floor of the building. I nervously sat down with Aaron, knowing that I was an outsider. People did not know me well, and I was not sure what to think. I was 16 when I started writing heavily, trying to do a breakdown of every single game I watched of various sports. This was a club though, that would critique my writing and nit pick my abilities. 

The meeting went well. The Sports Editor, Matt Watling, outlined his expectations of the section and was talking to some of us afterward. He was excited for me to write, he always sensed that I could thrive if given the opportunity. I was less sure, but I gave it a college try. I wrote an article about the upcoming golf season. 

I quoted Bobby Jones, the legendary golfer about the mental aspects of golf in that first article. I learned that is not allowed, it got crossed out and I made a note to myself. Thirty suggestions later from Matt and the copy editors and I cringed. Maybe, I could not do this. 

Then it got worse. I did an article on the men’s club rugby team. That article was the worst thing I have written in my life. Seventy-five edits, no joke. I wanted to cry, I wanted to quit, I wanted to be mad. I directed all that inward, though, and decided I could dig deep and turn it around. Matt called a meeting, and I was motivated to take a big step forward after it. 

I started to write stories freely because I took the time to learn AP style and learn from my mistakes. The edits and suggestions I received were filed away, I still have that binder and will look through it every so often to humble myself. 

I wanted to stand out and that is when I decided to do a story on the inconsistent sleep of student-athletes. I was so excited after completing interviews on a rainy Wednesday, I stayed up until 12:30 that night and worked on 1,300 words. It was the feature story that week, and suddenly I found a groove and love affair with The Oswegonian. 

I eventually trained with Matt and Luke Owens for most of the abbreviated spring semester in 2020 for the sports editor position before COVID-19 struck. I accepted that position over the summer on a Zoom call and entered a mostly remote year of being sports editor. My ambition to get better remained, and I was in awe of the ability of current Editor-in-Chief Ben Grieco the entire fall 2020 semester. 

I wanted to be in that position, so I applied to become editor-in-chief for the 2021-22 academic year, which leads us to now. 

I am now in charge of The Oswegonian and look forward to an important year leading the staff and writers each and every week. Ben has passed along as much wisdom as possible, and I appreciate him for that. He was an influential leader who has had a profound impact on the way I approach this position. 

So, from the freshman who did not know what The Oswegonian was, to the sophomore who almost skipped the meeting, on to the junior who led a sports section without live sports for most of the year, to now the editor-in-chief, I look back and smile. What a journey it has been and what an exciting future it shall be.