Dear students and graduates,
Congratulations on your accomplishments. A cap and gown is not easily earned–nor worn in UD arena sans air conditioning! My sincere hope for you all is to take what you have learned from Sinclair and keep the ball rolling.
You’re on a roll, whether you’re reading this as a new student or a graduate. You can have a rough start, a rough journey but the one who decides it comes to a rough end is you. Either way, your journey isn’t over yet.
Everyone here wishes for your success as a fellow Tartan. Keep your contacts you’ve made so far and for those that are just starting, be sure to make connections. They can be worthwhile in your career and personal life.
I suggest you get involved in some way while you’re on campus. I had zero idea I would take to journalism. I took a chance out of the blue–and am I glad I did.
I was not a traditional student and Sinclair did not have a field of study that matched my specific talents. I ended up learning two entirely new, employable skillsets because I took a chance on myself.
I want to stress the lesser known strengths of Sinclair. Many do not realize what tremendous opportunities there are to both study your field and begin careers in it along your journey.
Many of your professors are from the Greater Dayton area and many know wonderful pathways to getting you where your passion is telling you to go. I have had amazing support from the Clarion in this regard.
I have never been more encouraged to learn and to do so with such openness. I became realized as a person through my time with my amazing coworkers.
One of the greatest gifts is the way I have seen myself develop from a person who could trip up over perceived impossibility into someone who can immediately think of alternative solutions. Someone who can keep the ball rolling and successfully lead others.
If I had a goal for students, it’d be for you all to blossom. I think even the most extroverted of us may find some inhibitions or ways we’re limiting ourselves. I want you to experience positive change in any direction you need to go.
I have been encouraged at the Clarion to take ahold of my dreams and work to manifest them.
If you want to get involved, don’t wait thinking that opportunity will suddenly come your way. You have got to make it happen. If you really want it, you’ve got to get ready to experience a lot of it “not happening” before you are successful.
You need to have an idea of yourself going forward. I don’t mean that you have life suddenly figured out, by any means. But I want you to see yourself holding your degree and truly taking away something from every experience you had thrown at you.
That’s the good ones and the bad ones. The Clarion does not just come out every Tuesday with the wave of a magic wand. Enumerating the time I have invested into transforming the Clarion into our recent success is a task in itself.
It’s not just me, either. Over time, we ended up getting a great group of people that all had a similar vision and work ethic to lead. We got to see that come to fruition–but it was battle after battle.
We all must press on in our lives. Every time is a pressing time, today is no different.
I don’t think I’m very incredible or someone that’s out of the ordinary. If I can have valuable experiences like this from my years at this college, I truly believe it is a possibility for everyone reading this.
And to let some things be recorded in history, a few moments I recount on our last edition together:
The amount of laughter we’ve shared between us will give us many times over its worth. I cannot publish the list of titles we have rejected during our brainstorming, or the fake news articles we made for the April Fools edition that we then realized wouldn’t fall on April Fools.
We have been such a supportive group together. Anything we’ve needed to talk about, we’re there. Any endeavor someone’s reaching for, we’re there to lift each other up.
We’re there to leave comments on word documents in our own language that’s mostly at this point, onomatopoeias.
I have never developed a hatred as strong as that which I possess for the Oxford comma.
We’re there to work the entire day, only to get locked out of our own office.
We are the friendliest group of oddballs that you would not imagine getting along so well. Not only do we get along, but we work so well off one another.
Oh, all the days we needed a couch in this office. A pillow and blanket, at least. Talk about being married to your campus.
The days when you’ve spent twelve hours working on Friday and the cafeteria closes at three, then the vending machine takes your last two dollars. Only to smugly beep at you.
Then, we practically crawl back to the office in sheer defeat, only to stare at content that just changed because of a new development.
I remember the days in which an entire new building was built in front of our office, coating us with construction confetti and forcing us to fend off questionably wired lights in the great tunnel of plastic sheeting for the entire semester.
That is of course, after requesting the college remember our office was there and obstructing us entirely was a bit of an issue. A time-sensitive issue.
Finally, we saw the light this Fall semester when our space was needed for another program and we lucked out on an amazing office in Building 6. The windows made a world of difference.
Anthony’s amazing ability to misspell nearly every word in the dictionary. Anthony’s specific way of nodding when he tries to persuade us to like a design has become iconic.
Britt’s many southern vocabulary words we’ve thoroughly studied, Gabby’s near infinite stock of kit-kats and other chocolate desserts, the list goes on.
One time, Gabby and I were trying to get interviews at a press release and instead ended up on the evening news.
We also suddenly realized we were essentially Sharpay and Ryan from “High School Musical” once they realized they shouldn’t be singing. Unfortunately, after Halloween.
Everyday was unique. Most were challenging in their own way.
I was also banned from saying “essentially.” I have done well in my recovery.
I remember the swear-jar which soon became the bus-fare-jar. I remember the four hundred times we’ve said “make it work” to embrace our inner Tim Gunn.
Laina and I have had endless adventures as the editorial team. Our largest feat has been going an entire semester without saying a single positive thing about our own writing–always earnestly working to improve it. We leave praise to the other one, it’s a good system.
The rest perhaps will have to remain off the record–but within my heart.