While it’s not the way I’d anticipated ending my undergraduate experience, the four years I spent collaborating with others on a publication will be remembered as the most unique of my young adulthood. There’s no telling how much longer print media will stand as a profitable format, so I consider myself and those I worked with lucky for the time we had. 

I declared myself an economics major on admission to Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics. I’m graduating with that degree in under a month. That much was expected – I’d known since sophomore year of high school that I wanted to take that route. What I hadn’t anticipated was joining an organization entirely outside of my field first thing freshman year and stuck with it through the end. 

To the credit of everyone I’ve worked with at The New Hampshire, if it wasn’t for the environment they’d helped foster, I would have lost interest long ago. It’s not especially unreasonable to quit something you’re passionate about due to big personalities – I’ve done that – but in the case of this organization and those involved, it couldn’t have been easier to stay. 

We spent about eight to 10 hours every Wednesday night, with few exceptions, doing everything that goes into a newspaper. Editing articles, writing headlines, creating pages hours before our publishing company expected them – to new hires and outsiders, our jobs seemed unnecessarily stressful and last-minute, but those on staff would attest to the social benefit of performing that way. Oftentimes, Wednesday nights were the best of my week. 

There’s somewhat of a trend among graduating seniors. People feel like they’ve been cheated out of a proper final semester, which is perfectly fair. I feel that way. Yet I’m fortunate to have made good use of my time at UNH, and I believe that’s what I’ll remember about college years from now. Not that we all got kicked off campus. 

I enjoyed working with TNH’s 2019-2020 staff the most because there existed a shared vision that they’ve proven will extend into future years. It’s that dedication which leads to close friendships. I was already close with several staff members prior to working with them, but after this experience, I’m confident the working relationships we established will benefit everyone in the long run, socially and professionally. I’m hoping we can keep those bonds strong. I encourage it. 

Additionally, I’m grateful to UNH and Paul College for providing the opportunity to branch out and try things. If it weren’t for my freshman year RA who’d suggested I attend the Jukebox, I wouldn’t be writing this at all. 

Thanks everyone.