STORY BY TOM SCEARCE 

My first visit to Drake University was an overnight stay my senior year on the Chicago Bus Trip. So, naturally, I was excited to see campus and the dorms, eat in the dining halls and see the surrounding neighborhood.

Afterward, if you were to ask me what my favorite part of the trip was, it would be none of those. Meeting the then Editor-in-Chief of The Times-Delphic, Lauren Horsch, trumps all of those, even making the friends that I did (sorry, guys).

You see, I was a self-proclaimed Jerd (journalism nerd) in high school.  Late-night editing over pizza and sending the paper to press around 11 p.m. became the norm for my four years of high school, so it was interesting, to say the least, to find someone who possessed the same level of enthusiasm for the paper as I did.

We talked a lot about the paper, and it made me even more excited for the newspaper opportunities that lied ahead. I expected a similar four years.

Of course, you know what they say, “college changes people.” After delving into an array of clubs my first year, I came to realize what I was and was not passionate for. I switched my major from news/Internet to public relations after realizing reporting just wasn’t for me anymore.

Even though I voluntarily chose to leave The Times-Delphic a semester early to pursue other endeavors, I still had an amazing experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

The lessons I learned from the late nights spent in the TD Office editing my pages taught me a lot about myself and working in a professional setting with a team.

Despite all the nights I spent stressing over creating budgets and the incessant phone calls and emails I sent when my writers missed deadline, I still helped produce a quality publication each week with some amazing people.

The people you work with, I think, is the biggest factor of whether you like or hate your job.

And the people I collaborated with on staff made the job worth it. They were part of the reason why I didn’t entirely hate having to be up at 8:30 a.m. every Sunday to start layout.

WARNING: This column might start to get a little sappy. I apologize.

First, there’s my amazing designer Paityn. I’m in awe each week of what she is able to design in such a short amount of time. I’m still an InDesign novice (I’m lucky I can open a page), so I’m glad she was able to put up with me and my constant questions. I enjoyed our weekly brainstorming sessions, followed by us venting about our classes.

The desk immediately to my right is that of our news editor, Sarah. She’s a hoot and a half. Even when she’s upset, she’s funny. I could always count on her to cheer me up when I’m stressed. Even though no one else in the office appreciated our constant playing of “Never Gonna Wake You Up” (go look it up if you haven’t heard of it), I still love it.

Sarah’s designer Greta is also a gem. When our amazing headline writing skills came together, we were a force to be reckoned with (That is the furthest thing from the truth). But with who else could I jam out to “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” and feel no shame?

The news team and features team laughed way too much these past few months, but I feel that that was the key to get through the stress: laughter.

Speaking of laughter, our managing editor, Austin, always has the best one liners. I also have to give him special props for putting up with my awful headline writing. I’ll miss him when he goes abroad next semester.

Our photo editor, Joel, is always reliable. When I’m waiting on stories, he’ll always have photos ready. He also talks a lot about physics, and I usually just nod my head and reminisce to my C in my high school physics class.

Our sports editor, Colton, is often quiet, but when he does talk, it’s usually pretty funny. Or about sports. And I often tend to tune out if it’s the latter.

And then there’s our editor-in-chief, Courtney. She’s been a great leader and is always helpful in giving me story ideas and design ideas. She also has a deep passion for reporting that will make her a great journalist.

We’ve been through a lot of rough patches as a staff, but we pulled through.

I may not have the same goals I did when I came on that bus trip almost two years ago, but I’m still thankful for the experiences.

So, this is my sappy good-bye to the staff.

I’ll miss our quote board-worthy quotes and our late-night shenanigans.