I never envisioned working in the realm of college sports when I came to college in August 2018. Believe it or not, I came to NC State in pursuit of an engineering degree. Instead, I found myself knee-deep in editing sports movie reviews, hiring sports correspondents and going to every men’s and women’s basketball game I possibly could.

I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Now, four years later, I’m coming down the homestretch of my stint at Technician that also began in that fateful August.

I’d be lying if I said the task wasn’t a difficult one. Going to as many sports events as possible, writing upward of 30 articles a month, making meetings on time, as well as all of my responsibilities as managing editor, on top of all the classes I took was soul-crushing at times.

But through all of the late nights, sleepwalking through days and personal strifes, I found out a great deal about myself. Much of that was due to being in and around the NC State Athletics family.

The first thing I learned about myself was, in the words of legendary NC State coach Jim Valvano, that I “don’t ever give up.” I’ve always been a tireless worker, but working sports games brought the best out of my resilience and how to be confident in myself and my abilities.

Like I said earlier, I came into college with no journalism experience, and yet, NC State sports welcomed me and helped form me into the writer and person I try to be every day.

But I didn’t just learn that from being thrust into the fire. I was able to learn from some of the best writers and people I’ve been around. The SIDs in every sport were a guiding hand for me over the years, ensuring that us college writers got the same experiences and affordances as other experienced writers in the industry. I can’t thank them enough for giving me, and all the other sportswriters at Technician, the opportunities we’ve been able to have.

Of course, my writing and confidence wouldn’t be nearly what it is today without some of the best writers I’ve gotten the pleasure of learning from. Former sports editors Andrew Schnittker, Alec Sawyer, Camden Speight and Jake Caccavaro taught me an endless amount of what it takes to be a resilient person and writer. Without them, I wouldn’t have learned what I did.

Current/former editors/senior writers Jaylan Harrington, Wade Bowman, Nicholas Schnittker, Bryan Pyrtle, Ben Ellis and Rachel Bilenki, as well as the entirety of the rest of the sports section, have helped me every step of the way, and I’m thrilled that I had the chance to work with them.

That’s something else NC State Athletics taught me, particularly through my time working with the women’s basketball team: when you surround yourself with high-character individuals, anything is possible.

There were many times this season when women’s basketball head coach Wes Moore attributed his success to the character of the players he recruited, and it resulted in one of the most energetic environments I’ve ever been in. That much was true of the writers I got to be around at Technician.

Because of working in and around college athletics, I’ve also been able to take a crucial lesson to heart: living in the moment. My career at NC State is hallmarked by several crucial feats for the athletics program, from the women’s basketball team winning three straight ACC Championships, to the football team beating UNC-Chapel Hill in a miracle comeback in my last game as a student, to the men’s basketball team upsetting Duke in PNC. I’ve seen it all.

In each and every one of those incredible feats, I’ve been able to live in the moment and fully understand that I am only in college once and to enjoy those experiences. Those moments helped me realize that, and being able to see all of them firsthand — most often as a reporter — is one of the most fulfilling experiences of not only my college career, but my entire life.

Now, when you come to NC State, you better expect to hear about Jimmy V. There’s no better epitome of the Wolfpack culture than the legendary championship-winning coach, and his lessons are felt throughout athletics to this day. Not only did he teach me to never give up, but he taught me to love what I do, and make sure to laugh, think and cry as often as possible to fully live my experiences.

The final thing NC State Athletics, coach Valvano and my experiences in student media have taught me is to fully love what I was doing. I can say, without a doubt, that I’ve loved every moment of my reporting career at NC State. Working in athletics has been one of the best, most rewarding journeys I’ve ever embarked on, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the experiences NC State Athletics has offered me.

Many people go through life without chasing their passions or doing what they want to do, instead focusing on what they “need to do.”

I’m thankful to not be one of those people.