Editor-in-Chief says goodbye

When I first enrolled at Austin Community College in 2005 I felt like a fish out of water.

I was still adjusting to college life and I knew that I wanted to pursue journalism or photojournalism, but ACC's journalism program didn't look all that appealing to me considering there were only a handful of basic classes to choose from.

As a result, I enrolled in core curriculum classes and felt really bored and unchallenged until one day, after I had taken a year off from school to take care of my kids, I came across a MySpace post from my former high school newspaper adviser Matthew Connolly.

Connolly was looking for ACC students to volunteer for the student newspaper at ACC.

I had no idea that ACC even had a newspaper so when I read his post I jumped at the chance to join the Accent.

The first staff orientation I attended was during the fall semester of 2008 where I met up with another student that I worked with at my high school newspaper.

Her name was Sarah Neve and I hadn't spoken to her since I graduated high school a few years ahead of her.

In high school, I was Neve's editor and at the Accent our roles were reversed so it was quite an experience seeing firsthand how much she had grown as a writer and an editor.

She became Accent's editor- in-chief, a role I took on this past year.

Being editor-in-chief is a roller coaster of a ride. There are so many responsibilities placed on our shoulders that sometimes I question why in the world did I ever take this job. In the end though, all the late nights, scrambling for last minute coverage, dealing with ethical dilemmas has been worth it.

I've gained so much knowledge and experience working in various roles at Accent. I've served as a designer, photo editor and editor-in-chief giving me a deeper understanding on how to run a newspaper from all angles.

Anyone who has ever worked for a print or online publication can tell you that running a newspaper is one of the most demanding and gruelling jobs.

During my tenure at Accent, I've experienced black outs on press day, covering the shooting that occurred at the State Capitol, moving newsrooms from Rio Grande Campus to Round Rock Campus and losing our adviser during this past semester.

Losing Connolly as our adviser has to be the most difficult experience I have had to deal with during my time at the Accent. I've written before how helpful and great of an adviser he was to us and my opinion of him still hasn't changed despite the difficult situation his departure placed us in.

Connolly, hands down, is who made me want to be a journalist. He is the person who taught me how to push myself to become a better photographer and writer and to stay focused on what's important: reporting relevant and timely news.

I would have to say that above all the experience and knowledge I have gained, the best experience I have felt working at Accent has been meeting the wonderful and talented individuals who have made up our editorial staff over the past few years.

There was the quiet guy, Michael Needham, who only spoke up at random, but every time he did he would make the funniest statements that had the whole newsroom laughing. There was also the guy who we all envied for being so talented, but we loved him for it anyway. Christopher Smith was and is an amazing writer who I know will go places in his career.

Then there were the Sarahs. Sarah Neve, who I have already mentioned, and Sarah Vasquez — two of the best people who I could have ever hoped to become friends with. We've been through thick and thin together at Accent and even though we've all parted ways we find ourselves working together at Neve's newsmagazine Uweekly Austin.

I find it really difficult to write about myself, I always have, but this is the last article I will ever write for Accent and it's really difficult to say goodbye. After working here for over three years and running the show without an adviser this semester, I'm beat.

Still, I'm really hesitant to leave considering I don't have a job lined up in my future, but I believe I've done everything that I can here and it's time I hand over the reins to a new staff.

So here's to looking forward to the future and all the endeavors it brings. -30-