A year ago at this time, I was feeling a little nervous. I was moving into a new office and a new job at The Reflector. The publications committee had recently named me as editor in chief of this paper, and it was all a bit overwhelming at first.
Now, I’m just a little tired. This is my last issue of The Reflector. After today, a new editor in chief and a new staff of section editors will take over, and I will move out of the office that I have spent so many hours in this year.
When I look back on this year and everything that has happened, I can’t believe it’s almost over-it’s been quite a ride. We have seen everything this year, from a women’s dorm infested with bats to an NCAA tournament run for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
We barely made it through a football season that was less than exceptional. For a while, I was a little worried that one of my editors would get assaulted after he wrote a column criticizing the team and the coaches.
We’ve written stories on everything from scholarships to scandals this year, including freshman football player Nick Turner’s indictment on a felony charge of possession of counterfeit money.
There have been some sad and troubling stories as well. The front page of this issue tells the story of Henry A. Hutton, a 22-year-old MSU sophomore who was found dead off of U.S. Highway 82 Tuesday morning. It’s difficult to write about things like that-it’s even harder when it’s someone that people on your staff know.
Our stories, columns, photographs and advertisements have all won awards at journalism competitions, and The Reflector snagged a No. 5 ranking in the Southeast, beating out both The Daily Mississippian, the student paper of Ole Miss, and The Student Printz, Southern’s student paper.
We have covered concerts and tournaments, speakers and banquets. There were days when we struggled to fill all of our pages; there were also days when there was so much stuff going on that we didn’t know what to do with all of it.
All of this and more has been a part of my life this year. I’m going to miss being in the middle of things and always knowing what’s going on around campus. I’ll miss my friends calling me Miss Editor, and I’ll miss the pride that I felt when I picked up the paper every Tuesday and Friday morning.
Most of all, I’ll miss the people. This job has opened doors for me that I would not have been able to enter without it. I’ve met more people through my job here than I have as a student for three years.
This has been an unpredictable, crazy and fun job. As I said, it’s been quite a ride. I have worked with some wonderful people, and we’ve made some wonderful memories in this office. So … this is it … my last hurrah … my parting words … my farewell address … call it what you will. This is the end. Enjoy your reading. I’ll be around-just not here.
Leslie Ann Shoemake is a senior communication and philosophy and religion major.