Dear St. Dominic and all readers of Crusader Nation News,

I cannot believe three years of learning and hard work are coming to end in a mere matter of days. Journalism has been something that I have obtained such a love for. Granted, it was not always easy being the only boy in journalism 2 last year, but I was able to manage. Though I didn’t always make it fun for Mr. Duncan, it was always a fun and special day when I had journalism class.

Going all the way back to my freshman year when I was choosing classes, I saw Journalism and knew I simply had to take that class. Little did I know that I really understood very little about Journalism and the journalistic process. My Journalism 1 class failed the same quiz probably eight times, and it was a headlines quiz. Yes, we couldn’t even figure out the headlines. The rest of the year was filled with confusion but also joy. It took many many many months before I was able to finally understand how to correctly write an article. I realized it gave me a joy no other class had.

However, it was my junior year in J2 that I realized this is what I want my career to be. It was having such a dynamic, important role in this class that made me fall in love even more. Throughout the year, I wrote 52 articles. Yes… a whole… 52 articles. Every week I was writing and producing articles, and even some weeks I wrote multiple articles. I’ll never forget the look on my editors’ faces when I was covering the World Cup, and told them that I wrote a six page article… multiple times. It was an overwhelming year of writing, and boy was it a challenge, but it was a challenge that I loved every minute of. I was gaining so much journalistic experience from interviewing senators, to creating documentaries by interviewing business owners; all of it was an experience that I will never forget. 

Finally, we get into J3, the grand coveted spot for all members of the program that also get the comfiest chairs to sit in. This year, I had the honor to be the Layout Editor of Crusader Nation News which meant that I got to: design and make changes to the website, publish everyone’s work, and have a say in what articles will or won’t be written. Having a leadership role completely introduced me to a brand new aspect of Journalism. I have gained such a newfound respect for those that are editors of big newspapers. 

I will forever miss this class and all the people that come with it. Lily Hente and Alyssa Baird have made my Journalism journey worth doing, and I will forever be grateful for having them to do it with. For now, I look forward to college where I will be majoring in Sports Journalism.

Mr. Duncan, I know we didn’t get along 100% of the time, but I want to thank you for having me in this important leadership role. I have gained so much knowledge and experience from this class, and this will always be the class that I missed the most. 

My advice to everyone is to appreciate journalists and all that they do, because this is not an easy job by any means. 

Well, I guess this is it from me. A happy farewell to Crusader Nation News.

-Noah