When you read this, Hofstra’s Spring 2025 Commencement will be less than two weeks away. Two weeks until I can no longer call this place my home, as it has been for the last four years. Two weeks before I pack up my room, walk out of my bright red door and travel home to Massachusetts. Two weeks until I begin a new journey: graduate school at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
I have not been at The Hofstra Chronicle for the entirety of my college career – I only started last semester as the Assistant Features Editor. Joining this family was a decision I made on a whim. I opened Instagram one random day and saw the “We’re Hiring!” post for the Features section and decided to give it a shot. I sent in an application not expecting it to go anywhere and, a few days later, got an email back asking me to come in for an interview.
Was I prepared? Not really. I was so nervous and fearful I would mess up. It felt awkward to join at the end of my junior year when everyone else in the Chronicle had been there already and had established their connections and friendships. Who was I to waltz into the Chronicle office and pretend like I knew everyone like I’d be able to fit in?
Everything I feared when I walked into my first ever layout night disappeared moments after I sat down at my computer and got to work. The room was bubbling with laughter and joy, and I knew right then that I could make this place a new home.
Journalism is so important now more than ever. As someone who prefers written over broadcast journalism, the Chronicle gave me a place to put into practice everything I have learned over the last four years. People may say that Features is the easiest section to work for, but it puts into practice so many skills and strengths that one can take with them into any other section. There is always so much to say, and my time at Features not only made me a stronger writer and journalist, but also a better and more observant person.
The last year has been a whirlwind, but I am so grateful to this club for keeping me sane and bringing me together with some of my now closest friends.
To the Copy team, thank you for putting up with my stupid emails and the occasional oxford comma; you guys really are troopers for everything you do in this organization. To all the Executive Board for including me in things and growing our connections, I will not forget your kindness and the effort you all put into this paper.
To Madeline, my lovely housemate and friend, I am forever grateful to that fateful day you asked me for a tour of our now shared apartment. Thank you for sitting with me when I’ve run out of ideas and always making me laugh when I need it most. This paper is in good hands with you.
A huge thank you goes to Zoe, my wonderful co-editor and beautiful friend, for being my mentor and making me feel welcome every day. I will forever be grateful for our unexpected friendship and your constant support while I learned the ropes of our section. You have such a flourishing future waiting for you and I cannot wait to show you around my hometown and take you on a coffee date in Boston this Fall.
Hannah and Denivia, our lovely assistants, you both are so bright and genuinely passionate about our little corner of the Chronicle. I trust the two of you will carry this section to new heights. Thank you for everything in the last semester and good luck in the future.
As my time as the Feature’s Editor comes to an end, I will leave you all with this: do not be afraid to take a risk and never hold yourself back from what you are passionate about. You never know where you may end up so make the most of everything you can in the four short years you have here.
