32 days. Well, actually, its 31. That's it. We're in the double digits and the days are flying by. As soon as the days get warmer that's how it always works. That's the reason summer flies by.we have so much fun playing in the sun that before we know it, it's time for school to start. Now we are getting into those warm days and senior year is ticking down. As the weeks go by and things wind down, it leaves a bittersweet feeling in us all. It seems like as each week goes by, one by one, my activities end. While I am glad to be able to have more time to do work and sleep, I will miss the busyness and of course, the friends that I have made.
The friends that I have made over the last two years are what have made all my experiences at Longwood amazing. On this journey that we call life, we encounter many friends. Some of those people we become very close to and others that we keep at arm's length. Those friends who we become close with are the ones who shape us in to the people we will eventually grow up to be. I credit the amazing experience in my time at The Rotunda to the friends that I have made. Each and every person that we have on staff has shaped me and made me the person who will be walking across that stage on May 9th.
Two years ago, if someone would have asked me where I would be on April 8, 2009, I would never have imagined myself sitting where I am today. I am in the company of two of my very best friends as we put to bed a chapter of our lives. We have been through a lot, Tim, A.J. and I. And somehow, we have seen a newspaper come out every single week. Sure, we have spent countless hours in the hot, stuffy office and cursed at our alarm clocks when they go off at 8 a.m. Wednesday mornings but I know none of us would trade the experiences that we have had for the world.
Last year, as I sat and wrote my final editorial, I never could have imagined The Rotunda coming as far as it has come. One year ago, I had a dream for The Rotunda. While it took a lot of hard work and tears (and believe me, there were a lot of tears that went into this paper), I achieved my dream. We went online with The Rotunda on September 10th, 2008. Yes, there was a website that was the online version of the paper; however, it had not been updated since April 2007. Many alumni had contacted us throughout last year asking if we had a website that they could catch up on the latest news around the campus; however, we had to tell them that the only way to read the paper was to pick up a hard copy of it. My goal was to bring the paper into the twenty-first century and catch up with the rest of the world. Multimedia aspects of news media are no longer the wave of the future. It is the present. With the existence of The Rotunda Online and The Rotunda Show, our campus newspaper is finally able to keep up.
Since The Rotunda went online, it seems that we have more people reading it. People are leaving online comments and actually talking about what we write. Although there have been some ups and downs, it makes me excited to see that The Rotunda is making a difference and that people are actually taking time to pick it up or log on to the website. My hope is that this paper and the online portion will continue to prosper.
Needless to say, I could have never done any of this alone, nor could I have made it through the last two years alone. I can say, hands down, there are three people who have truly made a large impact on my life and allowed me to chase my dream of having The Rotunda Online. Mr. Halliday, Tim and A.J. have been by my side from the beginning and they are here at the end, even after the roller coaster ride we have been on, especially this year. Not to discount those who have supported me throughout these crazy times (Josh Blakely!), but I owe every experience that I have had to these three.
There are two other people for whom I am very grateful. Two people who I have shared three amazing trips with, who I have cried with and laughed with. These two people who truly mean the world to me and I can't imagine what my life is going to be like not seeing them every day. Words can't even describe how much Tim and A.J. mean to me.
Tim and I first met through The Rotunda. I timidly sat two computers down from him. I wrote news briefs and he copy edited. I can honestly say that I was terrified of Tim. It wasn't until we went to Washington D.C. for a media convention that my fear went away. Throughout this adventure on The Rotunda, he has provided a lot of laughs. But he is also someone who I know I can talk to about anything. Although he will make fun of me until the end of time for some of the things that I have done or said, he is always be someone I know I can go to if I need help or a friend to talk to. I don't think that Tim gets as much credit as he deserves in his job. I have never seen someone spend so much time dedicated to making sure all the T's are crossed and all the I's are dotted. Without Tim, the facts wouldn't be checked and the paper would probably be a grammatical mess. Thankfully, he is willing to give up his weekends, and week nights for that matter, to copy edit. Not to mention the Wednesdays he spends walking around campus on no sleep just to make sure the new issues of The Rotunda get where they need to go. I can't imagine where paper would be without someone like Tim.
A.J. well, many people know about how I feel about him. I am amazed that a person can put so much dedication and heart into an organization. I am so proud of all the work he has done to bring the newspaper to where it is now. To see a person spend 16 hours in front of a computer to make sure the paper is perfect is simply mind blowing. The lengths that A.J. has gone to seen this paper succeed nobody will ever know. In the last two years, I have learned so much from him. I have learned to be patient and to listen to people before reacting. There is one valuable lesson that I have learned from A.J. and that is when to lead, and when to follow. For what seems like forever, I have always felt in competition with him. While I know I have what it takes to be his equal, that's not always what this paper needs. I have learned when to step up and be a leader and share my opinions, but I have learned when to take a backseat and go with the flow. Life is not a competition, and I have learned very well that it's hard to compete with someone who isn't competing back! I know that whatever decisions he may have made for this paper, even if I disagreed with them from time to time, he always had everyone's best interest at heart.
A.J. has the strengths that Tim and I don't have. The three of us complement each other very well. I can honestly say I wish that I could be half the person that A.J. is and has been in our time on this newspaper. To think, this whole newspaper journey began when I texted him and told him that if he didn't come to a Rotunda meeting with me, I wouldn't be friends with him anymore (I was kidding of course!). Without A.J. this paper would never be where it is today. He not only has helped me chase my dreams of getting The Rotunda online, but he has successfully led The Rotunda to having a successful staff. Every section has an editor, which is a change from the past, and
we have learned staff retention, which is definitely a good thing.
I think though that the fact we have all succeeded so much starts from the leadership at the top-with the faculty and staff. The most important part of college is academics. I came to Longwood two and a half years ago because of the Communications and Theater Department they had here. As many people know, I spent a year at a large university where I was just a face in a crowd. Not really a person. At Longwood, I have had the resources to do so much more. I have been able to excel as a student but extracurricularly as well. I credit the ability to do that to the professors that we have here in this department. They challenge students not only academically but also encourage them to get involved both extra and co-curricuraly. I can truly credit my professors for encouraging me to get as involved as I am. Although I begrudgingly joined The Rotunda over two years ago because it was a class requirement, I can't imagine not being a part of it. The only reason I stuck with it is because of the encouragement of Jeff Halliday. He has been there whenever I have had a problem and encouraged me to attack everything head on. I can quite honestly say, he has truly shaped my life in a positive way.although, I know he will never take any credit for that. Not only has he been a source of encouragement for the newspaper, but he has also encouraged me during my internship and through my search for a grad school program. I can't imagine a time in my life when I have had a teacher, let alone a professor like that. For that I am grateful.
The Rotunda is no longer a staff of three. There are 12 people on staff, most of who are returning for a second year. Rebekah Tucker and Kyle Centers will be the leadership of this paper next year and I truly wish them nothing but the best. As the year has progressed each of them has become more mature and have emerged as leaders among those on the staff. It is my hope that they can keep the newspaper going to in a positive direction. I know that they both have big dreams for the paper and I think that with the time and effort, they will definitely be able to achieve it all. I think that it speaks volumes about what type of organization, school and Communication Studies program we have because we were able to elect a freshman into a position like editor-in-chief. I think that Bekah truly has a lot of potential to be an amazing editor-in-chief, and although I will no longer be here, I can't wait to see the changes that she has in store for the paper.
In addition to Bekah and Kyle, I think that everyone else has the potential that is needed to make this paper even better than it is now. Freshman Nicole Dales will be the News Editor next year and I think her passion and drive will allow her to develop her section and she will, with the help of staff writers, deliver the news to the campus in an effective and accurate manner. As Assistant News Editor, she jumped into her position with both feet and was always here to help volunteering to do story after story to make sure the news section was filled. Her work-ethic and dedication to The Rotunda is a recipe for a great section.
Hannah Lawrence will be taking over my position next year. In all the positions that I have held in my time on The Rotunda the position of Web Administrator is going to be the hardest to give up. I fell in love with my job from the very first time I sat down to do it. Sure, it was hard at first, but it is something that I love doing. I love everything about the internet and I love the fact that we were able to create a platform to deliver the news to those both on and off campus. It is this job of Web Administrator that has driven me to find a graduate school program that focus not only on broadcast journalism but multimedia and multiplatform journalism. I think Hannah has what is needed to take The Rotunda Online above and beyond anything that I could have ever done. I wish her nothing but the best. It may be hard at first but in time she will learn the tricks that will make it easier.
As I reflect over the last two years, there is so much I want to say, but can't. There are people who have touched my life in my time at Longwood who have no idea really how much of an impact that they have really had on me. Two of those people walk out of the office with me on Tuesday nights. I wish that I could say so much more to Tim and A.J., but clearly, the newspaper is not an appropriate place to do that. Thank you both for all the experiences that you have given me over the past two years. Neither of you will ever know how much you changed my life.
It's hard to imagine what next Tuesday night will be like. I won't have to run from dinner to the office to Ambassadors then back to the office again. It will be weird to actually pick up a paper and have no idea what is going to be in it. I know that as a staff we have elected very capable people to pick up where we are leaving off. To them, I wish you all nothing but the best.
So as the days get warmer and pass by far to quickly, graduation is looming on the horizon. Membership in organizations will end in the coming weeks for those of us who are leaving in May. However, as we walk down the path of life, we will leave our legacies behind and remember those who shaped us--friends and professors a like. Know that every person we have encountered in our lives was put there for a reason. Never forget the ones who made you who you are and know that the ones who have made the biggest impact will be there forever.
Lauren Boehnlein, Web Administrator.
