As I sit in front of this keyboard in this new office, surrounded by this new staff, I can’t help but feel a bit strange.
It seems odd that there are no editors above me to double check my work — that there is no final authority to verify one of my decisions. There is no one left to tell me what I’m supposed to do.
It’s becoming increasingly clear to me, as this new editor thing sinks in, that I am that final authority.
To be honest, that prospect scares me a little bit.
To some degree, I still see myself as that same awkward engineering freshman from eastern North Carolina who was inexplicably drawn to this organization. For the past three years, I have covered tons of stories all over campus, learning the journalism process and creating some of the most vivid memories of my college career.
I’ve served under four different editors in chief and four different news editors — then watched all of them move on to bigger and better things. But although all of my mentors at this publication are gone, their lessons remain — and it is that knowledge I will use to make this paper better.
By the end of my administration, I hope people will trust Technician to provide the most in-depth coverage of the University any organization can offer. I want to see users visit our Web site first to find the breaking news this campus needs to know.
I’d like to see a publication that will speak to the student body and leave readers a little more informed or entertained than when they first picked up the paper.
A great man once told me that the mark of a leader is the state of affairs after that leader is gone.
That means two things to me.
It means that if I want to be a great leader, it is up to me to empower the next generation of reporters and editors with the capability to lead effectively — to move the paper forward when my time is up and my name is gone from the masthead.
But it also means something more basic, albeit more complicated: leave things in a better condition than when you found them.
I want to be a great editor in chief, one who will lead the Technician to become the best publication it has ever been.
I want to leave this paper better than it was when I found it.
I want to return the favor — because I’m a much better person since the Technician found me.