By Katherine Watson

I remember moving in on my first day of freshman orientation, and thinking I had such a long road ahead of me. Well, I’m almost at the end now, and I just wanted to thank a few people before I walk across the stage and graduate:

Mom and Dad: Thanks for loving me and supporting me, and teaching me to believe in myself. I love you both so much.

Elise: You’re the best sister anyone could ask for. I love sharing college memories with you. And I love that we both had newspaper jobs this semester.

Andy: Your fluency in Spanish has encouraged me to get better. I love you, fellow ginger!

Joe and Henry: I’ll always remember when you came for little sibs weekend. I love you guys!

Dr. Kates: You made law, history, and night classes interesting for me. Thank you for your advice and encouragement.

Professor Martino: Thank you for helping me improve as a writer. I know I’ve learned something from you when my research papers sound more like magazine articles. Thank you for your advice—it means a lot.

Dr. Tobeck: You changed my life. Thank you for pointing out my strengths to me, because sometimes, I don’t see them.

Alison Townsend: You saved my writers’ voice. For this, I am forever grateful. Thank you.

Professor Constantinescu: Thank you for believing in me and helping me succeed in Astronomy. Thank you for giving me the chance to prove that I can do things that other people said I couldn’t.

Mike and Dennis: thanks for seeing me for my talents and giving me the chance to copy-edit. You’re the reason I can say that I love my job.

Carley, Andie, Jami, and Andrew: You guys are talented writers/photographers and wonderful people. It’s been great working with you.

Heather: Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for making me laugh, for letting me hear you play your oboe, and for helping me with that research paper. I look forward to many more fun times and happy memories with you.

Jessica: I earned my Spanish minor because of you. Thanks for being my bestie and for a list of other things too long to name here. Team Jacob always!

Brian Zanin: Thanks for creating a catholic community that’s fun and welcoming. You made me feel at home from the moment I met you on Plan-It Purple day.

Renee (Eener) Oberhart: Thanks for being an awesome roomie. Good roommates are hard to come by, and you were definitely one of the best. Meow!

To My Zetas (especially Erica, Tyler and Kaylan): Thanks for being great friends. I’ll always cherish the memories I made with you guys.

Julie Lucht, Casey Bitzer, and Natalie Kotnik: thanks for going above and beyond to get me the info I needed. Without you, I wouldn’t have been as successful.

Jeanne Price: Thanks for being my friend since freshman ear, and for being there when I needed you. Here’s to more fun times in the future.

Devon, Sean, Tempestt, Justin, Beth, Katka and Chris: Thanks for being a warm “hello” and a friendly face. It means more than you’ll know.

To The Office of Residence Life: Thanks for putting Braille in the Starin Hall laundry room. I’ll be able to do my laundry by myself now as I pack to leave UWW.

To The Students of UW-Whitewater: Thanks for voting me in as Homecoming Court. It means more than you’ll know, and I’ll treasure the memory forever.

Well, I’m pretty sure that wraps it up. I wish I could list everyone who has touched my life here, but Mike said we have a 700-maximum word count, so I’ll stop here. Thanks, UW-Whitewater, for everything you’ve done to make my college career successful—and fun.

By Alex Wolf

It feels like yesterday my parents dropped me off at Clem Hall, saying goodbye to me as I started my first day as a college kid. A blink of an eye later, I’m sitting here writing my goodbye letter.

I can’t believe how fast these four years went. There is so much to say, but with little space. Coming in as a freshman, all I wanted to be was a sports writer. I had no idea about the Royal Purple, I knew the journalism field was dying and I had no plan. Now I sit back as the sports editor with two sports internships, I could say my college career has been a success.

What made me work hard and grow up was after my first semester. Getting my grades back, I didn’t do so hot. I know the first semester is a learning experience for most freshmen, for me it really pushed me to do better. I started writing for the one and only Chris Kuhagen, which I’m still sorry about what happened that night at Tim Gumz work party. All I have to say is, Cockburns.

I have made numerous friends over these couple years. I’m not going to name them all, but I am going to name “my buddy Gouvion”. I can sit here and say he has pushed me to do better even though he might not know it. Being good friends and living together for a couple years with the same degree, I think it pushed us to be on each other’s level. We never let each other get ahead of each other. If I were by myself, I might have slacked.

I know I’m not the most outgoing person (except when I have a few in me), but that didn’t’ mean I didn’t’ have fun. I will miss you all.

I also want to thank my parents. They have been very supportive and because I invest all of my time into journalism, it doesn’t pay the best. My parents have been able to help support me as they know that this career of mine will soon pay off for all of the hard work I’ve put in.

Looking back, I’m glad I chose UW-Whitewater. This school gave me opportunities that others probably wouldn’t have. I can say these are the best four years of my life, and I will miss everything about it.

By Michael Gouvion

As my time at the Royal Purple comes to a close, I look back at my four years at UW-Whitewater and have one word in mind: wow.

Wow did time go by so fast. Wow did I meet a lot of great people. Wow did I have a great time on this campus. Wow, my education career is over.

There’s no denying that I have many people to thank from my time on this campus, so here comes the cliché thank you list:

Mom, Dad and Aimee: Thank you so much for supporting me throughout my journey here at UW-Whitewater. Without you guys, I literally would not be able to go to school. I am so fortunate to have the loving family I do. Love you guys so much.

Alexander: Can’t even begin to think about all the ridiculous times we had that made our top 10 list, which actually turned out to be like 30. I’m so grateful Matt Karger introduced us those first few weeks of school freshman year otherwise I don’t think I’d have many other friends. Excited to see where the future takes both of us as we now compete for jobs.

Dane: Five seconds! “Some guy, he claimed whoops!” Too many good times to count. Glad you switched to the good side of journalism and I look forward to more fun times later in life.

Kyle: You have been a pleasure to work with this past year. Thank you for all your advice and helping me grow into a better leader and journalist at the same time. Maybe we will be competing or coworkers in the future.

Sam Martino: This is the main guy I need to thank for pushing me to be a journalist. Not going to lie, I hated how hardnosed you were to start my journalism career, but I couldn’t appreciate it more now that I have matured.

Alyssa/Chris: Thank you for hiring me as assistant news editor. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get assistant sports at the time, but the experience I got in news is irreplaceable and will only help me in the future. I’m glad we’ve kept in touch and we will definitely keep in touch in the future.

Andie: I could not be more excited for you to be taking over the paper for the next two years. Your potential in journalism is out of the roof. I’ll miss all our late night conversations about ‘90s music and other secretive things.

Carley: I’m glad we’ve become such close friends. I couldn’t ask for more reliable and responsible person to be the boss of. Hopefully we will be coworkers again this summer and continue to be close friends.

Zach: The Don. Or mush. Glad I’ve gotten to know you very well this semester. You have done a great job as opinion editor and I think you’ll be a great sports editor next year.

Andrew: You are the main reason I enjoyed our late Monday nights. Thank you for having a great sense of humor.

Jami: Congrats on becoming managing editor. You and Andie will work very well together. You have improved a lot since the first few issues and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.

Brandon: When there is a foot of space between two guys, you don’t sit there.

Nicole: You are the funniest girl I have ever met. Sorry I didn’t hire you right away because I know you still hate me for that.

Ad staff: Thank you for funding the RP and giving me the chance to gain the experience I gained the last three years.

To UW-Whitewater: I’m sad to be leaving this great campus but excited to see what the future holds. Thank you for the great education and preparing me for the rest of my life.

By Molly Fonaas

It seems like I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life. Finally, no more school! However, now that the reality of graduating and leaving Whitewater is setting in, I’m realizing I don’t actually want it to end! The past four years of my life have been an amazing adventure.

My heart was always set on going to school at Whitewater. It’s a campus several people in my family have graduated from, including my Dad who was an All-American on the football team in 1978. I knew I loved this campus and what this school had to offer, but I couldn’t have planned for the friendships, memories, shenanigans, and opportunities that would come my way!

As a graphic design major, and advertising minor, working on the Royal Purple every week for the past two years has been an amazing experience. It’s a designers dream to have their work published and viewed by thousands of people, and the Royal Purple provided this opportunity for me! It was also the very first “official” job I landed, and it gave me confidence in myself.  So thank you Royal Purple!

This job led to me to an internship last summer with VISIT Milwaukee, where I designed for the Milwaukee Art Museum, The Milwaukee Air & Water Show, and The Milwaukee Rally. This past year I also got another job designing for Residence Life. This has been another exciting opportunity for me. I had a great time designing signs that are located throughout the campus, t-shirts, and brochures incoming freshmen will be receiving in the mail this summer. What I love about my jobs is that my work will continue to be seen and “live on” even though I will no longer be here. I feel as if I have left my mark on this campus that I love.

Not only has Whitewater provided these academic opportunities for me, but it has also allowed me to pursue another one of my passions, traveling. It has always been a lifelong dream of mine to go to Paris, and see the Eiffel Tower light up the sky. So when I found out about a Travel Study going to Paris, France my freshman year. I knew I would be on that plane! The two weeks I spent in Paris with other students changed my life forever. I’ll never forget the moment I finally was looking at the Eiffel Tower in person! It was the first time that I knew what it felt like to make a dream come true.

This trip sparked my need for adventure. During my past four years of college, I traveled to Chicago, Florida, San Francisco, Hollywood, Las Vegas, New York City, and last year I did another Travel Study with students to Turkey and Greece. Once again I met amazing people and experienced culture and beauty I would have never known existed. Seeing the beautiful mosques in Istanbul, the Acropolis in Pergamon, the Parthenon in Athens, and the gorgeous Greek Island architecture was the most fantastic journey I am so thankful I got to experience! Not to mention meeting a fortune-telling gypsy, swimming in the Aegean Sea, and seeing the sun set over Santorini!

My life has been a dream come true, and most importantly to thank for that is my parents, John & June. I want to thank them both for providing me with endless opportunities and for showing me the world and what it has to offer! Thank you for allowing me to succeed! I look forward to my future as a Graphic Designer and can’t wait to see where life will take me next! Nothing can beat my experiences at Whitewater these past four years, but I know the next chapter in my life will bring me just as much happiness!

By Greg Hahn

As the school year comes to a close and I finish working on my last issue of the Royal Purple, I can’t help but to feel grateful for the opportunity that I have been given to work on such a dedicated and talented team.  Everyone, from the advertising department to editorial department, has done such an awesome job this year.

This semester was truly unique.  Almost everyone on the advertising team was brand new.  They all picked up their jobs marvelously and did so much to improve my working experience and made it a real joy.

Our new Advertising Representatives, Amanda, Jenny, and Rachel, did a fantastic job at finding new advertising clients, and improving relations with our existing ones.  Your hard work ensures that the Royal Purple continues to thrive into next school year.  I can’t wait to see what you all will be able to do in the following semesters.  Keep up the great work!

Our new Classifieds Coordinator, Brad, has also done a great job.  I couldn’t believe all of the work that went into fitting those classifieds into the page, but you pulled it off every week.  You were a real help to me in running the Can You Find It? Contest.  Even if it was only clicking one button a week.

To Molly and Sunny, the Graphic Designers, I am simply amazed at the advertisements you both are able to produce.  The talent you both have with those design programs is outstanding.

Lynn, you have done an amazing job this semester as Advertising Manager.  You worked so very hard at making sure everything ran smoothly week to week.  You were always there to offer a helping hand, and I am very thankful that you could.  I wish the best of luck to you next semester!

I would like to wish the best of luck to Heena, the future Business Manager.  You will be stepping into some big shoes but I know that you will do a great job, because you learned from the best.

Our fearless leader, Matt.  Thank you for the opportunity to work at the Royal Purple.  You allowed me to put my ideas into practice, and I thank you for that.  You showed me the ropes early last fall and then set me free.  I wish you the best wherever life takes you next.  Wherever that is, I know you will be an asset to the company.

To all of the student groups that I had the opportunity to work with, thank you.  I learned so much from working with you and I hope that you will continue to advertise special events in the Royal Purple.

Finally, I’d like to thank all of you, the readers.  Without you, I would not have had the experiences that I will always remember.  I hope all of you find a special place to work like I had.  A special shout out to all those graduating on Saturday.  It has been a long and difficult couple of years, but we have finally done it.

I wish the best for all of you.  We are all Warhawks, and it has been an honor attending this great school with you all.

By Matt Knudtson

As I anticipate the upcoming conclusion of my college career, I am amazed at how quickly the past five years have gone.  I am certain that I would not have been able to accomplish all that I have during my tenure here without the encouragement and empowerment of many individuals.

To my family:  I don’t think I thank you enough for all that you have done for me.  You raised me to become the person I am today.  Personally, I think you did an exceptional job!  You have always encouraged me to do my best, and you have helped keep me sane during stressful times.

To Amy Marie:  I can’t imagine where my life would be if you hadn’t thought I was “cool and fun” a year and a half ago.  Growing closer to and being with you has impacted my life beyond words.  The next couple of years will be tough, but I know we are capable of anything.  You mean the world to me, love!

To the Royal Purple:  It has been a pleasure working with everyone I have throughout the past three years.  I am confident that the current Advertising Manager (Lynn Marolt), my successor (Heena Ahmed), and the entire advertising staff will continue the tradition of success.  You are all motivated and brilliant individuals!  Kyle, thank you, also, for your constant support and empowerment.

To Jitters:  You will always have a special place in my heart!

To Luis Benevoglienti, Jessica (Jessi-co) Kearney, and the Lee/Fricker RA staff:  Working with all of you for two years was interesting yet incredible.  You always knew how to make the most boring staff meetings exciting!

To Frank Bartlett and the Residence Life staff:  Thank you so much for the opportunity to accomplish all that I have during the past couple years!  Your advice and empowerment has been much appreciated.

To Jeffrey Winter, Matthew Walter, and Mary Kaster:  Working with you three has been great!  I’ll miss the five-minute-long voicemails and witty banter!

To Chris Brooks:  Although we’re not there yet, I have no doubt that our ideas will enable us to retire as multi-millionaires!  Thanks for all of your help this semester!

To Craig Schmidt and Partners’:  Thank you for all of the opportunities you have afforded me.  I know we will continue to develop our ideas into amazing organizations!

To my housemates:  Living with you guys this year has been crazy.  Try not to miss me too much!

To Touched By a Paw:  Volunteering each week has often been a highlight!  We can’t wait for Belle and Benny to join our family!

To the Marketing and ITBE departments:  Thank you for allowing me to serve as a graduate assistant this semester!

To UW-Whitewater:  A major portion of who I am today is a result of me attending UW-Whitewater.  I have had an outstanding experience here, and am not looking forward to leaving.

To the accounting and IT faculty, Laura and Jenny in the UC, Vonnie Buske, Lorenzo Jackson, and everyone else I didn’t have room to recognize:  Thanks for all of your insight, bright attitudes, and help throughout the past years!  It will be missed!

Finally, I would like to conclude with some advice.  There are endless opportunities on this campus and in this community.  Trust me, these four or five years will go very quickly, and if you don’t make the most of each day you will regret it.  Get involved.  Make changes.  Improve your life and the lives of others.