The road to becoming sports editor at the Iowa State Daily was a difficult but rewarding one.

I got to cover sports that weren’t covered by bigger publications and it was so fun to learn about those teams.

I never knew I was headed toward a leadership position until about halfway through my sophomore year, I realized there would be a couple openings for assistant sports editor. I applied, got the job and worked for Sports Editor Noah Rohlfing and with the other Assistant Sports Editor Matt Belinson.

They were wonderful. They still are.

Noah graduated, passing the reins to me as we brought on Stephen McDaniel. Matt and Stephen make my job so much easier, but they also make it so much more fun.

The most rewarding part about making it to this position is you work so closely with those around you and you put so many hours into your craft that you end up learning about their lives.

The editor staff in the 2019 to 2020 school year was one of a kind and while many of them don’t remain, I have found friends in them. The staff was filled with great people doing a great job.

This year it’s no different, but with the pandemic forcing everything online, I haven’t been given the pleasure of meeting them all in person and having fun in the newsroom with my new coworkers.

It’s News Engagement Day, so while I can personally vouch for everyone at the Daily this year and last year, it should be noted all newsrooms will have stories like this.

Journalism is a hard industry, but it’s a rewarding one and there are hundreds of thousands of journalists in the country that do an amazing job.

Last year I talked about how I got into journalism and how help from my friend gave me a push in the right direction.

This time I’m asking for you to follow me, not in your career path, but as a reader. It’s not hard to support local journalism and whether that’s the Iowa State Daily, or somewhere else, there are excellent journalists at every publication.