The Royal Purple, so many different words and emotions come to mind when thinking about describing this place. Fun, serious, crazy, sarcastic, friends, hard work and late nights are just a couple of the words that immediately come
to mind.
Although I spent less than a year working here as the Assistant Sports Editor, I will never forget how many friends and memories I made in such a short time. They made me feel part of the team
right away.
Whether it was staying in the office past midnight with Justin, tired as dogs, playing our highly coveted “word game,” or blasting music and dancing around the office while getting dirty looks from Kim, none of these memories will be taken
for granted.
When Justin and Ashley sat in front of me in a class, I learned that they had an editorial position that needed to be filled for the newspaper. They were both so friendly, and told me that I should definitely apply for the position. I am forever thankful for that moment, and the two of them making me want to become a part of the team.
Going into the job, I didn’t have a lot of experience writing for newspapers, aside from what I learned in class. That didn’t seem to matter to the staff because they were always teaching me little tricks and rules to help me become a better writer.
After writing my first story, I’m sure Justin had a headache, and some tired fingers from the amount of editing he had to do. But he was extremely patient and would simply walk me through my articles and teach me about my errors. Justin taught me more in one semester than I learned in the classroom in four years.
I never could have gained this experience while making these lifelong friends anywhere else.
I’d like to first give a shoutout to Ashley for even considering me for this position, and encouraging me to apply for the position. Thank you Ashley, working here was one of the best experiences of college.
Thank you Justin, not only for being my personal mentor, but for putting up with me throughout the semester. I know that I can be a lot to deal with at times. Thank you for being the Brett Favre to my Aaron Rodgers. Your knowledge and lessons will always be remembered, and hopefully one day I will be as good of a writer as you.
I’d also like to thank Kim, unfortunately. Just kidding. Although our fake hatred toward one another was a lot of fun, I’d like to thank you for more than that. Thank you for showing me how to be a good leader, you were the perfect combination of strict and lenient and I think it really shaped the entire newsroom.
Dr. T, thank you for your time, as well as your insight. I’ve never met anybody that has as much knowledge for news as you. Lastly, thanks for being cool. I know this seems weird, but you being as cool as a person that you are made everybody enjoy themselves
even more.
Lastly, I’d like to thank the rest of the staff as a whole. I’m glad to have met all of you and become friends with you. Lowkey shoutout to Sierra for personally making my production nights a little more fun with our funny conversations.
Goodbye Royal Purple, and thanks for all of the incredible memories. I won’t forget any of you.