When I was an eighth grader registering for classes for my first semester of high school, I signed up for a journalism class on a whim. I needed another class in my schedule, so an introductory journalism class was recommended to me because I had already registered for an advanced English class — and I liked the idea, because I wanted to be like Paris Geller from my favorite show, “Gilmore Girls,” and I had loved to write for as long as I could remember. What I didn’t know is that my first journalism class in high school would set me on an entirely new path toward a field I would come to love so much. Today, I can proudly say that I ended up taking journalism classes all but one semester of high school and now, as a Creighton senior, I’m a journalism major and co-editor in chief of the Creightonian.  

My entire Creighton experience is interlaced with the Creightonian. Coming off a two-year run as editor in chief of my high school paper, I sought out the Creightonian at my first Skutt Shutdown. I still remember the joyful gleam in the eyes of our then-copy chief, Ava Monte, as she listened to me talk about why I love journalism and my experience with it. She grabbed Charlie Harrington, the then-editor in chief, and exclaimed, “you need to talk to this girl!” Before I knew it, Charlie was recruiting me as the paper’s news editor — a position that had just recently become vacant.  

So, first semester of my freshman year, I was launched into an editor position. My Monday evenings became filled with staff-wide meetings and my Tuesday nights were spent with the other editors in the newsroom, staring at computers on the second floor of Hitchcock and laughing over pizza as we all did our best to finish putting together that week’s issue by midnight. I served as the news editor for four semesters.  

One of my favorite parts of being the news editor was getting to work with Abbie Gallant, who is now my co-editor in chief. Abbie was the sports editor, and, for the better part of our underclassman careers, she and I would bounce ideas off each other. “What do you think of this headline?” “Is this font size too small?” “Would this be a dumb teaser?” We would constantly turn to each other to ask these questions, and more, for feedback on our respective pages.  

Of course, we were (and are) more than just coworkers. In that newsroom, throughout journalism classes we took together and during Starbucks runs for pink drinks, Abbie and I became close. I am proud to call her one of my best friends. Her dedication to everything she puts her mind to is something I admire so much. So, when our sophomore year was coming to a close and the editor in chief was graduating, it only made sense for Abbie and I to step up. We had already been collaborating on the Creightonian for multiple semesters and were already good friends; of course we could be editors together. She’s the reporter yin to my reporter yang.  

With this issue, Abbie and I have completed our third semester as co-editors in chief. Over the course of those three semesters we’ve brought in a web developer to redo the Creightonian website, hosted multiple editor training sessions where we helped better educate our staff, worked on recruitment in order to expand the staff to include assistant editors and redesigned the look of the print pages. While I am proud of these accomplishments, what I’m most proud of is the camaraderie and life I’ve had the privilege to witness come into the newsroom. I’ve always loved the Creightonian but — while we of course laughed some and got along — our production nights, when we put the newspaper together on Tuesday each week, used to only be about the newspaper. Now there is a new culture amongst the editors: a culture of inside jokes, supporting each other through challenges in both our Creightonian lives and regular lives, and genuinely having fun while working. Of course, the main priority on Tuesdays is still work, but we get to enjoy it more now. I think Abbie and I have helped cultivate this culture, but it’s each of our editors, writers and photographers who have really made it a reality. They’re all hard-working and talented, and they’re equally kind and open to new friendships. I’m thankful for each of them and the laughter we have shared. 

I’m beyond thankful for the time I have spent with the Creightonian. I have grown as a leader, a journalist and a person. From this experience, I can probably navigate Adobe InDesign with my eyes closed, I can rattle off AP Style facts in my sleep and I can write a simple news article in the inverted pyramid structure without really thinking. But, more than that, I now see the world differently — better. I see stories all around me. I’ve learned to hone my curiosity into asking meaningful questions, and that’s taught me to see stories in the person running down the Mall, the excited look in somebody’s eyes as they see a notification on their cell phone and the person reaching for the same item as me in the grocery store. It’s cheesy, and admittedly a bit cliche, but I do think everyone has a story. I have the Creightonian to thank for helping me see this way.  

This paper has also made me a much better journalist than I was a few years ago. The most valuable journalism lesson I’ve learned since starting at Creighton came from Carol Zuegner, Ph.D. She retired a couple years ago but was both my academic advisor and the advisor of the paper when I first started as news editor. She taught me that it’s important to be a human first and a journalist second. When I had to write an obituary for the first time, she reminded me of that important mantra, and that was one of the only ways I was able to write such a heavy piece — my heaviest Creightonian piece to date. I now carry that lesson — “I’m a human first, journalist second” — into every single story I write and every single interview I conduct.  

On top of the wisdom and friendships gained, I’ve had a blast covering a wide range of topics for the Creightonian. I’ve been covering construction updates on campus since I started out for the paper (because campus has been under some form of construction for my entire college career) and it’s been so fun having answers to all of my friends’ random campus questions. Freshman year I wrote about the Health Sciences Library closing, and that’s still one of my favorite articles. But my very favorite articles have been about the one and only Billy the Bluejay. When the mascot turned 100, I deep dived into Billy history and wrote an extensive article about the mascot. The first person to ever don the Bluejay costume saw my article and reached out, leading to my second Billy article — a feature on Creighton’s first person to cheer on our athletic teams dressed as Billy. Writing this, and other features, was so meaningful because I love getting to help people share their stories. When someone reaches out and thanks me for what I wrote about them or their event, I know I did my job well. It’s such an honor to help people express a little more of who they are, even if it’s just for a small student-run newspaper.  

Next semester, Abbie and I won’t be editors in chief. We decided it’s best to finish our senior year with more time for our friends, job applications and focusing on writing the articles we love. We’ll be reporters and stick around to help when it’s needed, so don’t think you’re going to stop seeing our bylines just yet, but we won’t be editors anymore. I’m excited to focus on thinking up one last Billy the Bluejay article, and I know our successor is going to do a phenomenal job. And so, to the Creightonian and every staff member we’ve had since the fall of 2022, thank you for all of the laughs and all of the learning. Even though sometimes it’s been stressful, the Creightonian has been one of my very favorite parts of being a Creighton student. I wouldn’t trade my time as co-editor in chief for anything.