In November of 2023 my very first article was published in The Navigator News. I was just a reporter then and had no idea I would one day be Editor-in-Chief, it did not seem like something I could achieve. Here I am though and here I am graduating and having to say goodbye.
Firstly, I would like to say thank you to Lisa Shumard-Shelton for considering me to be in this position and seeing the potential in me. I really appreciate it and I know I will always have someone in my corner. Also thank you to Tim for helping me and helping The Navigator be the best it can be. I have appreciated your guidance and support, also our brief nerdy discussions about “Lord of the Rings” or superheroes.
I would also like to say thank you to the Navigator team, for dealing with my edits and meetings or my accidental repetitive “okkie dokkie.” Thank you for your continued support and trusting me when I make suggestions or ask you to change something completely. Thank you for being there for me when my grandpa passed away. I felt very loved and supported when I came back the week after his funeral and you all will never know how much that means to me.
Writing for the Navigator has honestly felt like a fever dream. I get paid to write about my hyper fixations or something important to me like donating blood. That is insane to me. I have always loved writing and wanted to be a novelist when I was younger but I thought of it as a side thing I did and not a real job. I guess it never really occurred to me I could write professionally, it was just something I did. The Navigator News has really opened my eyes to opportunities and made me think of doing things I never thought were possible.
You may have noticed I have written a lot about Formula One (F1.) This is one of those things I did not think about before. I have always loved motor sports but never had a platform to speak about it. I am very grateful I was able to write about it. I hope to continue speaking about it somehow, I have not figured it out yet.
Lake Land College has been a great blessing for me and I will be forever grateful. Thank you to everyone who has helped me, Gavin Shawver, Kim Hunter, Ellie Haskett, Hayley Haskett, Wally Rubin, Olivia Gibbons, Claire Miller, Tim Stolz and Lisa Shumard-Shelton. I will always be grateful I had you in my life. You have been a great support system and I value all of you.
In the fall I will be transferring to Belmont University and continuing my studies towards being a psychiatrist. It is daunting but I am super excited. I will miss The Navigator, Student Government and Active Minds club and all the people on those teams. I will miss all of my friends and the shenanigans that go on in the Student Life office.
That being said I have reached the word limit on this article and need to go. Thank you again everyone, farewell for now!
