When I think about the first day I walked into Witherspoon Student Center, it’s hard to believe this is where I’m sitting now, editor-in-chief of Technician and struggling with how to say goodbye. It’s hard to believe how much I’ve grown and changed all because of this student newspaper. It’s hard to believe all the doors that have opened for me because of the work that we’ve done here. Most of all, it’s hard to believe that it’s over.

Technician is where I learned to be a journalist, a leader and a friend. Technician taught me some of life’s hardest lessons, but even when it knocked me down, it was the first to pick me back up. I experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in Witherspoon 323, and I wouldn’t trade a single second of it for anything. Because while there are undoubtedly a few days I would prefer not to live through again, each of them shaped me into who I am today — especially the difficult ones.

But it’s the people who truly make the place, so I’ll do my best to thank everyone who got me here and got me through it. Although the truth is, I’ll never be able to say thank you enough.

Thank you to Emily for being the reason I started at Technician and one of the many reasons that I stayed. Our quests to the police station and Chapel Hill and many Board of Trustees meetings — never without a bit or two along the way — are some of my fondest memories. I’m grateful and honored to call you my friend.

Thank you to Jameson for being a shining example of an editor-in-chief. I lost count of how many times I asked myself “What would Jameson do?” this year. You always led Technician with grace and compassion, all while never compromising on journalistic integrity or your standards. All I can hope is that I continued to push Technician to its best self just as you did.

Thank you to Justin for being the person I looked to so I could be told not what I wanted to hear, but what I needed to hear. You’ve pushed me and all of us at Technician to be better journalists, editors and leaders. In an industry that is increasingly compromising its standards of integrity and transparency, your dedication to upholding those values in Technician and broader society is a testament to your character and passion for justice.

More than all of that, you have become one of my very best friends. From “my coworker” to “my friend from work,” I’m excited for you to simply be “my friend from college.” There’s few people in this world who understand what it takes to run this paper, and I am proud to say that we are in that club. KEJ forever.

Thank you to Ethan for being my rock. There’s no one else in the world I could have imagined doing this journey with. Believe me when I say that I don’t know a more passionate, driven, creative and hard-working person than you. I’m so lucky and grateful to have had your unwavering support since the very beginning of this extremely wild ride.

From correspondent to staff writer to assistant sports editor to sports editor to editor-in-chief to social media manager to managing editor, you have quite literally been there, done that and gotten the T-shirt. You put your heart and soul into everything you do, and Technician has thrived these last few years because of it. For that and so many more reasons, I will always be your biggest fan.

All we can hope for in life is that we leave things better than we found them, and you have undoubtedly done that for Technician. And on top of that, you’ve made me a better person, too.

The good days were better and the tough days were worth it because you were by my side. Out of all the stories we’ve written at Technician, our story is my favorite. I love you — put it in the newspaper!

Thank you to the Vol. 105 Editorial Board, because while it wasn’t always a smooth ride, none of this year would have been possible without every last one of you. I see so much passion and fire in each of you that I know will carry you all to do incredible things in this world, whether that be in journalism or elsewhere. To those who are graduating or moving on to other things, I wish you nothing but success and happiness. You’ve worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and I can’t wait to celebrate all of your wins.

To those who will be joining or rejoining Technician for Vol. 106, I hope that you feel as though you are inheriting Technician at its very best, just as I felt one year ago. This is a special paper doing special work for the student body and campus community. May you never forget the responsibility you have to serve the public through the journalism that we produce. And may you have some fun along the way, too. I will always be rooting for Technician and each one of you.

Thank you to every friend, roommate, sorority sister and classmate — Edy, Mia, Natalie, Mary Margaret, Emelie, Abby and so many more — who listened to me quite literally rant and rave about the highs and lows of this job over the years, even if you didn’t always understand what I did at work and why I stayed there so late, and for always pretending to care about what happened at the Board of Trustees meetings.

Thank you Mom, Dad, Margaret, Elizabeth, Granny, Granddad, Mum, Papa, the Plambeck family and the Bakogiannis family for your love and support, both financial and emotional. Thank you for the home-cooked meals and cheering me on when it felt like no one else was. I hope I’ve made you all as proud as you were the day I published my first article for Technician almost three years ago.

Thank you to every source who trusted me to handle your words and stories with care; journalism would be nothing without that trust. Thank you to Abigail, Heidi and Emily — who will forever be the first editors I ever had — for believing in me and encouraging me from the very beginning. Thank you to Ben, Patrick and the Student Media Board of Directors for your tireless work in supporting students and ensuring NC State Student Media remains dedicated to its mission of informing the campus community.

Thank you to everyone who picked up a paper, read an article or liked an Instagram post. If Technician was your first introduction to journalism, I humbly ask that you continue that interest when you leave NC State. Journalists need your support more than ever, and don’t ever forget the right you have to access a free and uninhibited press.

Most of all, thank you Technician, because it truly seemed like this paper took on a life of its own at times.

Being a journalist, especially being a journalist at Technician, gave me a sense of purpose like I’ve never experienced. This job and community have kept me grounded and provided me a home when I was admittedly pretty lost and unsure of myself and my place in the world. Technician is unlike any other place, unlike any other paper, and I can never thank it enough for the experiences, opportunities and lifelong friends it has given me.

Some days I felt like the end couldn’t come soon enough, but most of the time I felt like I would give anything in the world to have one more week, one more paper to make. I’ve said all year that being the editor-in-chief of Technician is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but saying goodbye to it might be even harder. How fortunate I am to have experienced something so difficult to let go of.