Well, the day finally came — the day when I graduate from college and leave the North Wind. I honestly did not think it would come to this, having to say goodbye to such a precious thing in my life.

It has been a privilege to be able to work alongside other talented writers and wonderful people. I have met one of my best friends here and so many other people whom I hope to stay in contact with after graduation — and to the ones I did not get the chance to really know this semester, I wish you nothing but the best during your time with the North Wind.

There have been so many memorable moments during my time with the newspaper. From the awkward first introductions once we came back in person after COVID to watching the then university president get brutally terminated, and even earlier this year when we shared the presidential suite at the hockey game with the interim president. Moments that seemed so small then, but somehow always get brought up when reminiscing.

I wish I could say a thousand and one words for everyone, but really nobody wants to hear me ramble all day. If you are not mentioned, just know I have nothing but all the love and support in the world for you, and you have made my time here at the North Wind some of the best years of my life.

To Ayanna: My assistant editor, my partner in crime, the Jon Snow to my Samwell Tarly, my best friend. Words cannot express enough just how much you bring immense joy into my life. When I first met you in an awkward three-way zoom interview, I knew then that you were meant to take the position. You reminded me of those really cool characters in the movies that you dream of being friends with in real life. The more I got to know you, the more I got the honor to see such a talented writer work and challenge themselves and succeed in an unfamiliar field. You always say you are not a journalist, but you are whether you want to admit it or not. I have learned so much from you not just as a writer, but as a person as well. You have taught me that it is okay to be a little too silly goofy and enjoy the pains of post-Chinese buffet excursions. I know we will still be attached at the hip after graduating but stepping away from this chapter of our friendship is something I am not ready to say goodbye to yet. I will miss our Thursday nights where we stayed up too late the night before budget only to then rush and put together the following week’s assignments. I cannot wait to see where we go in the writing field post-graduation and your reaction to what is to come in House of the Dragon (because truly I do not think you realize what is coming). Thank you for being the sun in my life that brightens every moment of my day.

To Kata: I truly cannot thank you enough for all that you have taught me during my time at the North Wind, not only as a writer, but as a person as well. You are such an admiration to people, and it has been truly a blessing to get to cross paths with you. It saddens me that I only got the chance to write under you for one semester. You are one of the most intelligent people I have ever met and an inspiration to so many, myself included. It has been such an honor to see you go from copy editor to features editor to editor-in-chief. You work so hard to achieve so much and I hope you know how much we all see the hard work you put in. Anyone who gets to know you should know just how much of a privilege it is for them to have known you. I will miss you so much, but I know you are going to continue to do great things. And twenty years down the road when you win your Nobel Peace Prize, I will be cheering for you as I watch live off of YouTube (or wherever we will be streaming by then). Thank you for everything — thank you, thank you, thank you.

To Ryley: When you first started writing for the news section, I could not express to enough people just how much talent you had and how impressed I was. It was jaw-dropping, honestly, going through your first article for the news section and seeing only one mistake. If anyone deserves to be the next news editor, it is you. You have worked so hard not only to become a vital person in the North Wind, but also know the technicalities of AP style that has become second nature to you. I wish we had more time to hang out and get to know each other, but I am glad to know I can still keep in touch via BeReal, Instagram and all the other pointless social media platforms. You are going to do great leading the news team and I hope whoever works under you enjoys getting to know you as much as I did.

Before I push the 1,000-word mark, I will wrap things up here. Thank you to all the professors, friends, mentors and people I have met during my time at NMU. Thank you, Mike Settles, for pushing me into having the confidence to aim high in the professional field. Thank you to Marek Haltof who taught me the joys of film analysis and made me into the annoying cinephile that I am today. And thank you to Olivia Kingery, Tony Piatti, Nic Rys and Dwight Brady who all made lasting impressions during my time here as a student. You have all taught me so much and I could not be where I am without you.

And because I really do not know how to wrap this up, here is a link to make your day a little brighter.