I applied to be the Arts & Entertainment Editor over the summer of 2022 with little to no journalism experience. I felt stuck and bored with where I was in life and I wanted to try something new in my junior year that would hopefully continue to push me out of my comfort zone. I’ve always been curious about the world around me and love to write, so I figured I would at least try and see what could happen. I found out about the job posting on Instagram and actually sent in my application on the last day it was due, not expecting to be hired at all. A few weeks later, I was studying abroad in London when I got the email that I had been hired as the A&E Editor and little did I know that my entire life and course of my future was about to change. 

I’ll never forget my first budget meeting. I knew no one except the Editor-in-Chief, since she was in my sorority, and while most section editors had been staff writers beforehand, I had never even stepped foot in the newsroom. Naturally, I felt completely out of place and was super nervous and didn’t even know I needed stories to present for the budget, so I just blindly started coming up with things that probably made no sense. Later in the week, I attempted to do layout for the first time, which took about three hours (maybe even more) and Evelyn slowly walked me through the process of using InDesign. I remember thinking, “this girl must find me super annoying and helpless.” Little did I know that we would become close friends over the next two years.

I could go on and on about how being a part of The Captain’s Log changed my life irrevocably and opened up so many opportunities that I was not even aware of at the time. While I began my journey at CNU as a musical theater major, I decided to double major in English, as well, during my sophomore year. Then when I got involved in The CLog, I took an Intro to Journalism class with Professor Davis in the English department and that helped me grow as a journalist in so many ways. I applied to be an intern at WAVY News in Portsmouth at the last minute and was part of The Hampton Road Show intern group last summer. That experience was incredible and helped me discover my love for broadcast journalism. It is because of that internship and my time in The CLog that I am now going to pursue a Masters of Science in Journalism at Columbia University next year (which still feels crazy to type, let alone speak aloud). 

While the future is still uncertain and scary, none of this would have been possible without my experience in The Captain’s Log. I’m so grateful to the people that took a chance on me, who are now some of my favorite people at CNU. From the late nights in the newsroom to having mental breakdowns over layout to last year’s New York trip, I am so grateful for every moment spent with the smart and talented editors and staff writers of The CLog. Evelyn, Savannah, Amanda, Katherine, Trey, Maggie, Justin, Cameron, and Lindsay, I hope you guys know how much I love and appreciate you all. And to all my staff writers, you guys are the backbone of this newspaper and we wouldn’t be able to do anything without you. Thanks for everything over the past two years. A&E Editor, signing off.