I sat in front of my computer for nearly thirty minutes trying to figure out a way to say this without it sounding really dramatic, but there was no way to say it without sounding dramatic. 

So here it is — being a student journalist changed my life and this summer it even sent me on a journey to the other side of the world. 

Walking into the Daily as a little freshman was intimidating and certainly overwhelming, to say the least. It was my first time away from home, I was trying to turn myself into a 4.0 student (it was the thought that counted) and I was playing hockey for Iowa State.

But it was the people at the Iowa State Daily that kept me motivated, even though I was on the club sports for two years because of my hockey schedule. Eventually my hockey career ended due to a soccer net. Yes, a soccer net (I can hear you laughing out there). 

That soccer net changed my course as a student journalist and introduced me to a whole new side of journalism. After two years on the sports desk, I switched over to the digital team, more specifically, the visuals desk. That’s where I developed a new love. 

Photography. 

Joining the photo team was the best decision I could have made at the Daily, besides saying yes to becoming an assistant sports editor, of course. On the visuals desk I discovered my love for photography and man that is an expensive love. 

I know you’re thinking expensive because of the camera gear, but I’m talking expensive as in it sent me to Australia, the land down under. After spending twenty hours on a plane, I spent the next five weeks in a photography class traveling around Australia. 

Again, without the Iowa State Daily introducing me to photography, I would not have traveled all the way around the world and have made friends and memories I’ll cherish forever. 

Fast forward a few months and here I am as the assistant sports editor, football beat writer and women’s basketball beat writer. Never, not even once, did I think I would have the opportunity to be in this position. Heck, I was on the club sports beat for two years and then I left the sports desk altogether. 

But it was my fellow student journalists at the Iowa State Daily (and probably my parents) that helped me get to this point and some of my favorite college memories have occurred because of you guys. 

To the readers of the Iowa State Daily, I am honored and will always love the fact that I can deliver news to you. Happy news engagement day.