Wow, a deaf journalist for about four years on campus? You don’t hear about that kind of thing, pun intended. When I first came on as a journalist I had no idea on what to do, how to organize, how to write a story, and how to edit it. But over time with trial and error I got better at writing stories, finding sources, how to talk better to people, and became more social. When I started out at the Royal Purple, it was a year in Covid-19, I barely knew how to socialize again since everything was a fresh start and it helped me slowly learn more about the campus and how to be more confident. In order to do great on this job you have to be confident, understanding of issues, who are important to the story, what stands out to the people, and how to write. I will always be grateful for the many opportunities that Royal Purple has given me by being a lifestyle editor, community editor, managing editor, and editor. This experience has made me grow more as a person and shown me the skills in order to become successful today.

This experience has shown me that even a bi-racial deaf person can make an impact with writing. I never heard of a deaf journalist out there in the real world and I can make a difference on so many people by writing stories on people and inspiring them. I started out as a lifestyle writer where I wrote stories on organizations, people, events like BLM protest, diversity events on campus, disability organizations, and things that were trending. Heck, I even tracked down a student that dressed up as an astronaut as a trendsetter for Halloween since it was cool and interesting on campus. Then I moved into managing editor where I was managing and editing stories but ended up working for the community section as the community editor. That is where I ended up writing stories on issues that matter in the community through events like senior in the park, preview of events to come, common council meetings that address problems and issues in the community. I wrote two stories about crimes and it was wild. Then I became editor, where I had to manage the editorial section and get opinions from many people on many issues on campus or in general. I got to ask and talk to so many people on campus through students, leaders, faculty members, and city leaders in Whitewater. I wrote stories on diversity, organizations, issues on campus, city leaders, events in Whitewater, crimes, issues in the city, and opinions from people on campus about topics today.

I am forever grateful for Royal Purple, I learned so much, and I have grown a lot from this experience. From making a difference in the community and campus to informing the community, having fun with the crew, making the crew laugh, and representing the newspaper on campus. I won three awards, and two scholarships because of all the hard work I have done. Think about it, I am a deaf person that uses writing to escape the world but uses that escape to inform people in the community about the world at hand. That is powerful, because when I was young I always felt useless and different from the rest of the world but this job made me feel more than that. It made me feel like I was a hero like Clark Kent aka Superman or just a hero because I got to make a difference by giving the people a voice to be heard. I never understood that until the end of freshman year and realized how important it was at the end of sophomore year. I urge future students to try these jobs on campus to get an idea on what it is like to be in your field because once you find what you are passionate about then you will be excited and feel happy about what you do in your field. I did so much and accomplished so much. I am happy for that and ready to continue to do more great things from here on out. Hopefully to write features on people, businesses, lifestyle stories, or community stories.

Dauntae Green, signing out one last time. Keep being the best you.