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Honestly, I did not expect to be here. I came to UNH as an Athletic Training major and only switched to journalism after I realized that sitting on the sidelines waiting for a student-athlete to get hurt wasn't as much fun as I thought it was going to be.
Sports journalism wasn't even on my radar.
Three years later, I have come to the end of a long, exciting road and will be relinquishing my role as sports editor of The New Hampshire this week. From sophomore to senior year, I have been involved in some capacity with the section. First as a writer, and then two years as editor.
I learned a lot during my time here and learned it quickly. I started without having ever taken a journalism class, so I learned by doing. The first sports story I ever wrote for TNH was a field hockey game wrap-up. And a poorly written one at that.
Since then, it is safe to say that things have gotten better for the sports section, both in story quality and overall presentation. My goal was to always present UNH athletics in a fair and appropriate light, and I think I accomplished that. I may not have made everyone happy in the process, but it's hard to please everyone.
Obviously, I could not have done this alone. In my opinion, I think I had the best staff of the paper over the past two years. My staff writers - Meg Power, Paul Landau, Biz Jacobs, Shawn Cyr and Brandon Lawrence - did everything that was ever asked of them and then some. If not for them, there would have been a lot fewer stories written.
My fellow sports editors over the past two years - John Ferguson, Jake O'Donnell and Cam Kittle - are the primary reasons this section was so good. Each of them brought their own ideas and personalities to the job, and you can see it when you open to the back page every Tuesday and Friday.
I will be forever indebted to those three because I would not have been able to do any of this without them.
Of course, the UNH athletic community was a big help. Every coach and student-athlete I met these past three years showed my staff and I the utmost respect no matter what the situation. Their understanding and willingness to answer our questions made life a whole lot easier.
As usual, I want to specifically mention the UNH Athletic Media Relations department. Whenever my staff and I had a question, request or concern, director Scott Stapin and his staff were always there with the assist.
I can honestly say that I am leaving with no regrets. I stand by every word written, every story published and every decision made in regards to the sports section and making it the best it could be. My only regret is that I never got to see a UNH team hoisting a trophy at the end of an NCAA tournament.
There were opportunities, but it just wasn't meant to be. The time will come, and it will be very soon. So I implore the UNH community to be patient. Building championships takes time; it's not going to happen overnight.
I am, however, excited for the sports staff that is taking over and will be here when a championship comes. Brandon, the next sports editor, Zack Cox and Chantel McCabe are a group of underclassmen that have proven themselves as the future of the section. They will continue the work that has been laid down the past two years and definitely improve upon it.
It is going to be hard to leave a job and office where I have spent most of my college career, but all good things must come to an end. I hope that our readers have enjoyed what I did over the years, because I certainly enjoyed doing it.
I have no doubt grown as a person and journalist during my tenure, and I will never forget my time at TNH.
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