“Turn out the lights, the party’s over. They say that all good things must end. Call it a night, the party’s over. And tomorrow starts the same old thing again.”
Don Meredith sang those words many times during 1970s telecasts of ABC’s Monday Night Football. Now it’s time for me to turn out the lights, or more appropriately turn the page to a new chapter in my life.
When I started at The Minaret in January 2009, I had never taken a journalism class. I was just starting in the field after transferring from The Art Institute of Tampa where I studied Web design for more than two years.
The Web design industry was not the business I thought it was, however. I’ll spare the details of my lack of artistic skill.
In late 2008, I was languishing and figuring out how to salvage an academic career that was clearly headed south. After some searching, I decided to study my biggest passion since childhood: journalism and broadcasting.
I am now set to graduate with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Journalism. I plan to attend the University of Central Florida’s graduate school this fall. How times have changed in 18 months.
Editor-in-Chief Charlie Hambos, who was the Assistant Editor-in-Chief at the time, got me my position as a sportswriter. It was the job I always wanted and the opportunity was too great to pass up.
It was at The Minaret that I began to learn the ropes of journalism and hone my craft. My interview skills and writing ability were challenged like never before in my frequent efforts to get the story out on time. Let’s just say I’ve markedly improved since my first piece.
Now to my expressions of gratitude.
I would like to thank Charlie Hambos, who got me into the paper to begin with. I would also like to thank the two sports editors during my time here, Bobby Winsler and Kyle Bennett. I’m sure I gave both of them quite a few heart attacks when deadlines drew near. Hats off to the entire editing and layout staff at The Minaret, as without them the paper wouldn’t be the award-winner it is today.
My time as a sportswriter would not have been what it was without Tom Kolbe, UT’s Sports Information Director. Without his ability to book and chase down athletes and coaches, the paper’s sports coverage would be far from what it is.
Special thanks go out to the coaches and players I’ve covered at UT. Covering men’s basketball for the better part of two seasons provided me with a lot of good material week after week. Coach Schmidt and his crew work tirelessly to improve as a unit, so here’s to next season being better than the last one.
Volleyball was an amazing experience, as they were one of the top teams in the country last year and could win it all in 2010. Sitting in Coach Catanach’s office for 20 minutes while eating M&Ms and talking about the team’s rise through the ranks is the kind of experience a young journalist never forgets.
The softball team has been my sole focus since the season began in February. Coach Kanter and her squad have done a good job supplying material. Certain players such as Jessica Tejas were instrumental in carrying my coverage of the team. Thanks for a good season.
In addition to them, I had the chance to write stories for swimming, golf and men’s soccer. Thank you all too.
Finally, thanks to the readers of both our print and online editions. I hope you’ve enjoyed my stories as much as I enjoyed producing them. While not getting the story or the source I was looking for is the most frustrating part of this job, getting good material and writing it on time is the most gratifying.
Goodbye and good luck, Minaret readers and staff. As always, go Spartans.