After two great semesters as the editor-in-chief of The Oswegonian, this is the last editor-in-chief column I am going to write with Takeover Week  taking place over the final issue of the semester. 

I have learned a lot as the leader of this organization; first that in this day and age, it is tricky to promote and garner interest in newspapers as a medium for people to consume content, but that does not mean that there is no interest. I know plenty of people who have picked up copies of the paper weekly, so it has always been my goal to also put out the best quality content for everyone, whether they plan on reading it or not.

On a similar note, finding interest from writers throughout a semester is one of the more difficult challenges that comes with running a newspaper, especially one that relies on students. As a student myself, I know how busy semesters can get and how some extracurricular activities take a backseat to the more important things that need to be done. That I feel is the main reason for the lack of writers towards the end of semesters. People feel that writing for the paper is like adding homework to their plate, and we need to find a way to show that it is not.

I also learned that being a leader will never be easy, but when you have a strong staff around you, it definitely helps make things a little less stressful. I did what I could to include the rest of the staff in the decision making process, as well as hearing their two cents on different issues. 

While there was a lot of work to be done week after week, I would not trade it for anything. When I came to visit this school on multiple occasions, I knew this was an organization I wanted to be a part of, and from day one, I was. This was a position I wanted to be in from the beginning, so to be able to end my college career where I am, I am satisfied with my journey. 

I truly cannot believe that we are already at the end of this entire academic year. It felt like it went by in the blink of an eye and real life is creeping around the corner.

I want to thank everyone on the staff who helped to create and perfect the paper week after week and I want to thank everyone who picked up a copy of the paper and read through the hard work of everyone who participated in building the paper. I know the next group to take over The Oswegonian are going to do a fantastic job continuing to build the organization into what we know it can be.

Photo by: Cottonbro Studio via Pexels