When I joined The Winonan, I thought it was going to be a nice way to earn some extra experience while earning my degree.

I had recently transferred from Rochester Community and Technical College, I had no knowledge of Winona State University, had never even toured the college, and, to be honest, I was in a state of mind where I just wanted to get my degree and get out.

I never thought that joining The Winonan would be the best thing I ever did during college. I never thought it would take over my life and for most of the first year, it didn’t. I kept my head down, did whatever I was assigned to do, and that was it.

Then, the sports editor position opened up.

I’ll be honest with you, when I was first asked about it, I didn’t give it a second thought. I was not that interested. Thankfully, I was asked again about, and I kid you not I joked about it to my girlfriend, Amanda.

It was then, she gave me a puzzled look and told me, “no, you should actually think about doing it.”

That, right there, was what changed my college experience for the better, because as soon as I tried to and eventually did get the position, my college experience got a whole lot better.

Why?

I got to work with and get closer to an incredible group of individuals, that were really good at their jobs, and turned out to be really cool people, a lot of which I am proud to call my friends.

The next year was great, I was more motivated than ever. I had really good group that I was constantly around, and I was happy.

During this time, it was made clear that the editor-in-chief position was going to be open. Again, I initially was not that interested in it. Again, when I brought it up to Amanda, she gave me a puzzled look and said to go for it.

So, I did, and I worked hard, and I got it.

While I was ecstatic that I got it, I was a bit nervous at the same time. This year being the 100th year of the Winonan, I had done a lot of reading from previous Winonans and all of it was good. Really good.

I wanted to keep that going but, I quickly realized that it was not going to be hard to keep that good journalism coming.

Why?

I may have been the editor-in-chief of the paper, but I tell you, with a staff that the Winonan had this semester, it was a guarantee that there was going to be a lot of good journalism.

It is such an incredible staff that I have no fears for the paper moving forward, I know it is in great hands.

All of this brings us to the end.

Being at the Winonan gave me the ‘big-time rush’ that I needed to get through college, to be happy, to make some of the best friends I have and help me break out of my damn shy shell that had stuck with me for a long while, and it made me my best self. I will forever be thankful for my time here.

Thank you Winonan.

The opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of Winona State University, the Minnesota State Colleges and University system, or the Winona State University student body.