From the moment I first set foot on Miami University\u2019s campus, I knew I wanted to join The Miami Student. The big, bold banner hanging in Armstrong Student Center immediately caught my attention.<\/p>\n
My first year journalism professor, James Tobin, took our class to the newsroom for a visit, and I fell in love with the space and the atmosphere of the room. He was attempting to get us to join The Student, and in my case, it worked. I started writing for Culture (Entertainment at the time) and Campus and Community, and haven\u2019t looked back since.<\/p>\n
The Student has taught me so much about journalism and teamwork as a whole. Since I started writing, I have grown significantly and developed so many skills I wouldn\u2019t have without this organization.<\/p>\n
Different deadlines and assignments have challenged me in ways I had never been challenged before, but I can\u2019t recall a single time when the outcome wasn\u2019t more than worth the work.<\/p>\n
However, The Student means much more to me than just the skills I\u2019ve learned. Most importantly, it\u2019s how I met my best friends. The Student has single-handedly shaped my college experience, and I wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n
Every semester, something I always look forward to is the social gatherings. Getting together with friends, playing games, chatting and laughing is always a highlight for me. I also love meeting new staff members at these events.<\/p>\n
I remember my first gathering: I was terrified. I met up with a few fellow first years beforehand so we could go in together. However, despite my fears, I was immediately made to feel welcome. As soon as I walked inside, I was greeted by Reagan Rude, who treated me as though I had always been a part of The Student. From that moment, I didn\u2019t feel like an outsider.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I first started to realize that The Student was my home.<\/p>\n
Now, as an upperclassman, my goal is to give the new staffers the same experience I had. The Student means the world to me, and I genuinely believe joining is the best thing I have ever done.<\/p>\n
In the spring semester of my first year, I got extremely homesick and depressed. I didn\u2019t feel like Miami was the right fit for me, and I really wanted to be home, closer to my family. It got bad enough that I started going home every weekend I possibly could, spending as little time at Miami as possible while still making it to my classes.<\/p>\n
Instead of letting myself have free time to think about how unhappy I was, I threw myself into The Student even more, taking on a position as an assistant editor for Campus and Community and writing as many stories as I possibly could.<\/p>\n
About halfway through the semester, I told myself I wasn\u2019t coming back. I even filled out a transfer application for a school less than an hour from my hometown because I thought that was what was best for me. As the semester came to an end, something didn\u2019t feel right.<\/p>\n
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I knew I couldn\u2019t leave The Student behind, so I decided to stay.<\/p>\n
I told myself that I would come back for the fall semester of my sophomore year, and if things didn\u2019t get better, I would transfer.<\/p>\n
When I came back to campus, I fell more and more in love with The Student. I started assistant editing for the Culture section, and I also became a managing editor of our magazine. It did get better, and I owe that all to The Student.<\/p>\n
If it weren\u2019t for the relationships I\u2019ve built through this newspaper, I don\u2019t think I would still be at Miami today. When I say joining The Student is the best thing I\u2019ve ever done, I mean it.<\/p>\n
It has become my home away from home, and the people involved are now my family. I wouldn\u2019t be who I am or where I am today without them and without this newspaper. I owe everything to The Student, and I hope that everyone can have something in their lives that means as much to them as The Student means to me.<\/p>\n