Position(s): Managing Audience Engagement Editor (2023), Senior Newsletter Editor (2022), Summer Managing News Editor (2021), Administration and Government Beat Writer (2021), Daily Staff Reporter, Daily Sports Contributor
Section(s): Audience Engagement, News, Sports, Video
Semesters at The Daily: 7
I joined The Michigan Daily simply because I wanted to write. Four years later, I write to its readers to say goodbye after contributing to four sections and creating countless memories and friendships. It seems impossible to boil this entire experience down to just 1,000 words, but in a way, that seems fitting: The Daily has been the defining project of my college experience, and it’s helped me in more ways that I could have imagined when I filled out an application in my Markley dorm room in September 2020.
Throughout the past four years, The Daily has always been there for me. Anytime I’ve faced trouble, or didn’t feel like I belonged at the University of Michigan, The Daily was there. When I’ve felt the most alone, The Daily and its people kept me company. Here, I’ve met some of my closest friends and people who have changed my life permanently. And to me, that’s what has come to memorialize my Daily experience. I came here to contribute to meaningful work that held the University accountable and informed the people of Ann Arbor as the only remaining newspaper in town. I stayed, however, because the people are extraordinary. I’d like to use the rest of my word count to recognize them now:
To the 2021 SNEds, Barbara, Liat, Kristina, and Dominic, thank you for rejecting me from the 2022 SNEd class, seriously. You all helped me find my home in this organization with Audience Engagement, and it completely changed my college experience for the better.
Evan, thanks so much for taking a chance on me to run your newsletters. I almost gave up on The Daily that semester, and you convinced me not to by showing me all the different sides of this incredible place. Your jersey (cardboard cutout) will be hanging in the rafters of 420 Maynard forever.
Mom, thanks for reposting all our Instagram posts. I love you!
Joey, Aishani, Steven, Avery, Matthew and Emma, you’ve all made mine and Martina’s lives incredibly easy with your creativity and initiative. Thank you for keeping the ideas flowing and the laughs rolling.
Abbie, your patience and candor have always made being here until 12:30 a.m. so much more fun, and Dana, our paper could not be in better hands with you and Sam next year. As a fellow backbone steward, I know the work can be thankless, so let me just say thank you both so much for ensuring our work is accurate and exceptional.
Paul, I can’t think of a single conversation I’ve had with you where I failed to crack a smile, and Connor you’d probably win the award for most engagement on your @theblockm posts. Thanks to both of you for pushing everyone on The Daily to be great every day!
Roni, Vanessa, Julian, Quin and the rest of the 2023 Managing Editor class, thanks for constantly churning out great content for us to put on socials and newsletters. Your work makes it possible for our paper to keep folks in Ann Arbor and beyond informed and engaged. Without you and your writers, this paper would be nothing, so thanks for being such a special group to work with.
Kate, your presence is essential to this publication. You’re a savant on every corner of this newsroom, and our organization has been lucky to have such a kind, intelligent and thoughtful leader at its helm.
Shannon, as my first friend at The Daily, you’ve pretty much been there for me at every step of the way since we met. Thank you for asking me to be your co-MNE; my experience at Michigan would have never been the same if you hadn’t. I always knew you’d do great things here and beyond, and I’m excited to keep rooting for you.
Tina, without fail, you’ve come in almost every night for the past calendar year, and Martina and I can’t thank you enough for all of your hard work. We couldn’t have asked for a better successor, and I’m fired up to see everything you do in the future.
Cole, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of spending hundreds of hours with you over the past year, and in that time, you’ve become like a de-facto little brother to me. More than that, you’ve been a friend, and someone I always look forward to hanging out with. Thanks for helping found SPTs and indulging my sense of humor. Keep lifting our section to new heights and being you.
Julie, thanks for always making me laugh. It goes without saying that you are an uber-gifted writer, but you’re an even better person. I’ve gotten to know you as a true friend, and I’ve appreciated every laugh, Total Wine run and two-man recap with you.
Martina, this past year, you’ve gone from a complete stranger to my co-ME, to my partner in crime and now, to one of my closest friends. Thank you for listening to me aggressively rant and getting to know me over the past year without once being scared away. You’re incredibly talented, so our publication will forever be indebted to you, but I think you and I are probably about even since I usually schedule the Blitz.
Zoe, I think you are what makes this place special for me. No one makes me want to come into the newsroom more than you do, and I think the sound of your laughter and joy will live in its walls forever. People like you, who love and cherish The Daily for all the right reasons, are what makes our publication great. I won’t say what you specifically warned me not to say here, so you’ll have to fill in the rest.
As the great Evan DeLorenzo once said, “thinking about all the free time I’ll have next semester honestly scares me.” But the show must go on, and I’m excited to see all the great things The Daily will do in the future.
Because I will always love this place.