Colin Houston, Sports Editor
I wish that I could say my time here at Trinity was fantastic and just give a teary farewell. However, that would be dishonest. Truthfully, it has been a tumultuous ride. Mental health issues I’ve struggled with my whole life never truly left me, and the world seems to get scarier with every passing day.
With that said, it would also be dishonest to say I am unhappy with where I have ended up. As much as I wish I could function the way other people do, and as many times I have felt like I was in a rut with no end, my college experience has allowed me to reach a point I thought was unreachable. I am, more or less, proud of who I am, and who I think I am likely to become.
The Trinitonian has been as big a part of that as anything. The people I met here received me with open arms at a time I did not think I deserved anyone’s time or energy. Despite my subconscious fighting me every step of the way, I have found a community here. More importantly, I believe I have helped lay groundwork for a paper that will do some real good in some very uncertain times.
To anyone who has read my columns, I hope I imparted something of value. To every colleague who has worked with me or under me, I hope I treated you with fairness and compassion. To everyone else, see you around.
—————————————-
A. Jay Burdine, Illustrator
It has been an incredible opportunity working for the Trinitonian. I have gained valuable professional experience while engaging directly with Trinity and student life. Thank you wholeheartedly, I really look forward to seeing the future of the paper! I sincerely hope that the future illustrators and visual coordinating staff are treated like the integral staff they are and paid accordingly!
—————————————-
Lauren Roddis, Pulse Editor:
I bawled my eyes out the morning I left home for Trinity. My flight from Spokane, WA left at 10 a.m. the day before move-in, and the long travel day daunted me like no other. Not only was I leaving home, I was leaving behind a uniquely strong community — one that had guided my growing up. The same people that were in my pre-preschool co-op class showed up with bells and whistles to my graduation party.
Before coming to Trinity, I knew nobody in Texas. I struggled to make digital connections with incoming students the summer prior to move-in. I felt such a need to spend every minute with my boyfriend or my family or my friends. Every final hangout resulted in a goodbye that felt soul-crushing at the time. How could I ever begin again when I couldn’t even remember the first time I met the people that decorated my life in Spokane?
When I got to campus, I was fortunate enough to find the seedlings of community. I made friends in choir, I hung out with the girls who lived across the hall from me, and I made it work. Second semester of my first-year, I joined the paper as a Pulse reporter. I wrote every week, and I loved every minute of it. I met dozens of people through interviews. Through telling stories about our campus community, I found my place in it.
I spent every semester after that working for the Trinitonian. At the paper, I found a place to be comfortable and challenged and collaborative. I learned how to work with people. I learned how to receive feedback and criticism. I learned how to write and how to think. Besides learning a great deal, I also made such wonderful friends. It would be an understatement to say that working for the paper has been a rewarding experience.
