Each year, graduating editors are given 30 final column inches — “30” was historically used to signify the end of a story — to reflect on their time at The Hatchet, published in the final issues of the year.
In trying to find the words to say as my time on The Hatchet staff comes to an end, there’s one word that rings truest in describing my experience here: love.
People may question why we travel 45 minutes on the Metro to cover a tennis match or drop everything to get a breaking news blog out? Why do we choose to start the volume by writing articles instead of going to the beach? The answer I have is simple. We do it out of love. For the paper. For the stories we tell. For sports, culture, news, opinions. We do it for the love of the page.
It is easy for superstars like Michael Jordan to express their “love of the game,” as they make millions of dollars annually, but as an unpaid student journalist for the past few years I can say I do what I do for the love of the game. For the love of the stories that wouldn’t be told if we weren’t reporting on them. In the same way my proudest moments I’ve had at this paper have been the stories I’ve told along the way, some of my biggest regrets have been about the stories I haven’t been able to tell. Going forward I want to commit myself to fuel those regrets forward and continue to write thoughtfully.
As the shot clock runs out on my time as sports editor I can’t help but look back at a few of the moments that made me feel the love of the page most intimately. There was the time when the Washington Post eliminated its sports section, leaving The Hatchet as the longest active continuous sports section in D.C. The moment reminded me of the impact and weight our coverage has.
And then there was covering a double overtime men’s basketball loss at George Mason as a staff writer and women’s basketball overtime upset over Richmond this past season. These moments reminded me of my love of the game of basketball and challenged me to infuse the adrenaline into the blogs.
In my college career I’ve pulled countless all-nighters to finish an assignment, none of which I can say I truly enjoyed as much as the night I fell asleep writing a story on The Hatchet couch in the dead of night on a Saturday. Flipping through Hatchet archives from volumes decades back as the sun rose again reminded me of my love for this paper.
The Hatchet has kept me up at night in only the best ways possible.
One of my tasks as I stepped into the role of contributing sports editor happened to fall at the end of the night, cutting the stories to fit the page once they were through editing. The task often kept me up late, but I grew to love it. In fact, I started staying until the end of the night in the basement to read through the paper before it went out to print. On my first night staying until the end of the night I looked closely at the page to make sure every detail was correct. As the last eyes on the sports page, I’ve seen it grow through the volume. I’ve fallen in love with it and developed a true love of the page.
And it was another moment, in one of my final interviews as sports editor, where I was reminded of my love of good stories and my passion for telling them authentically. A graduating senior gymnast was reflecting upon leaving the sport she had practiced since she was three, comparing it to a divorce. While writing her profile was one of the highlights of my Hatchet journey, I won’t be divorcing or breaking up with writing anytime soon. While I won’t be on the staff of volume 123, I will not stop engaging with The Hatchet. I will not stop writing. And I will not stop telling the stories that I love telling.
As a staff we have poured countless hours of labor into each issue we have put out, all without the expectation of getting paid. At The Hatchet I believe we do all we do truly for the love of the page. For the love of this paper. However, the sacrifices we each make for the love of this paper wouldn’t amount to anything without a collaborative commitment to care for and love each other throughout the process.
Neither the experience nor the product would be the same without the team of people who have supported me and my work along the way, so many thanks to:
Ben Spitalny: A true partner, leader and sounding board. You’ve led the section gracefully the past three years. I’ve truly learned so much from you in my time as a reporter, staff writer and then through collaborating to lead the section this past volume. I am so thankful to you for trusting me to help carry out your vision to build a vibrant and thriving section. And I have no doubt that’s what we are leaving behind.
Fiona Riley: To the biggest girl boss, my favorite “chief editor” and good friend: I will forever be grateful for the sacrifices you have made for this paper born out of a great passion for it. You embody what a good leader should be. I admire your care for the staff and this paper, even when I know it sometimes means you have to sacrifice sleep or class work. I’ve been lucky to see you run this paper and push through challenges along the way. Not only have you run this paper as a girl boss, but you have done so in a way where I can both love you as a friend and respect you as an editor. You are fearless when you need to be, yet rely on support when you need it. You are truly a big part of why I loved this volume so much, and I will miss our post-prodo walks home very very dearly.
Hannah Marr: “Nice!” This word doesn’t just describe your character, but is also perhaps the most satisfying thing to hear you say when affirming mine or others’ good work. Whether securing an interview, reading a good quote or reporting back on a productive interview, I know I’ve truly made it if Hannah Marr simply says “Nice!” You were one of the first people I talked to after joining staff, and I’m so thankful that you did and that we’ve grown to become good friends. I’ll always cherish our chats in the EIC office, or before ed board. You’re one of the things I will miss most about writing for The Hatchet and I know The Hatchet will miss you very deeply as well.
Sandra Koretz: The person who edited my first ever article (a women’s tennis blog) and countless more along the way, seemingly catching every missed comma or capitalization error along the way, your enthusiastic attitude has often given me the confidence to dig deeper. I look up to you and hope I rose to the challenge of filling your shoes well. Thank you for your guidance, your edits and your energy.
Syd Heise: First of all, your columns added a vital component to the section and helped strengthen this year’s volume. I admire your ability to share your opinions clearly and appreciate how you’ve shared new ideas to better the section overall. I’ll miss chatting with you in section and ed board meetings.
Ryan Jainchill: I always appreciate your ball knowledge. The weekly recaps were a big success this year, and your voiceover skills are a big part of why. Keep it up man.
Milo Rosenzweig and Sophia Caputo: As I transition out of staff, you both have given me full confidence that I will be leaving the section in good hands. You know I will always be here if you need anything, but these past few weeks have given me great hope for what the section will look like moving forward. Continue telling the stories that are important to tell.
Lexi Critchett: Your work has brought the section’s stories to life this year. From your fire collages to coordinating portraits, I am so thankful to have been able to rely on you to provide a visual component to our stories. I can’t wait to see the work you continue to do.
Arwen Clemans: Even though we are graduating together, I have always thought of you as a wise elder. Perhaps it’s because you are so incredible at your craft, or maybe because you have graciously driven me to George Mason or just because you are very wise. That’s all to say I am grateful Hatchet brought us together and grateful for the bits of wisdom I’ve gleaned from you along the way.
Ethan Tsai: You are truly a jack of all trades. You have enthusiastically covered track and field, are a master of fact checking and have stepped into ed board with fresh thoughts to share. You’ve been a great asset to the section and can’t wait to see you continue to grow.
Socials: A big part of the sports section’s success this volume has come thanks to our collaboration with socials. Renee, Marcel, Max and Andrew: you have been great partners in helping create our recap videos and providing live updates during basketball games. Thank you each for your support in helping elavate our coverage.
Andrea Mendoza-Melchor: Thank you for welcoming me into ed board and leading the conversations we had each Monday night. Through ed board you challenged me to think and engage with key issues facing our university and community at large. I know your work leading the opinions section has been so valuable to the paper and will continue to be in the next volume.
Fiona Bork: Thank you for all you have done to bring me into this paper. I can really tell you care about the paper and the people within it.
My loved ones: To anybody who loves me and to those whom I love, I truly thank you for supporting me and constantly pushing me to live life more fully. While you may not realize it, I couldn’t have done this without you. Whether you let me bounce a pitch off you, vent to you about a problem with an article, or have read a story of mine you had a part in this journey as well.
gp done <3
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