Father Tacelli, who was President of the Board of Directors for a majority of my time here at The Observer, characterized me as a freshman by saying that “you were the most intense person I had ever met in my entire life. Everything seemed like an existential crisis to you. I don’t know how you being EIC worked, but it did.” This probably sums up my tenure as EIC better than anything else I could have said. The success this newspaper has seen over the past two-plus years is more of a credit to the amazing people I have had around me than it is to myself personally. These people have helped change both myself and the newspaper, and I would not have been successful without them.
No EIC can be successful without section heads who are professional, creative, and hard working. I could not have asked for better leaders than Rachele, Megan, Kaitlin, Allie, Dana, and Elise. It is funny how things change over the course of four years. When I first started at The Observer, there was only one female on staff, and now the males find themselves drastically outnumbered. Each of these ladies has been outstanding at every step of the process, and have had to deal with my whimsical overhauling of sections, staff changes, and “hissy fits” (as my sister calls them). I definitely could not have done this without them.
Second, I definitely have to acknowledge in a special way Jesse Naiman’s contributions to the publication. He has been a great help in running the day-to-day business of the newspaper while I have concentrated on big-picture trends and tried to raise enough money to keep the presses going. Without him, I am not sure where we would be right now but it would be nowhere good. He is going to make an excellent EIC and will continue to be a great mentor to the younger writers. He is someone who appreciates the craft of writing, works hard at investigative journalism, and brings a real sense of fun to the newsroom.
I also need to give a huge thanks to the people who have quite literally kept us financially afloat over the past two years, including the Collegiate Network, Michael LaTona, Tim Gavin, Joe Kelly, Ray Jeandron, Mr. Gallagher, and Mr. Currie. One of my favorite parts of this job has been talking to alumni and donors and getting feedback, both positive and negative. Lastly, I need to thank my sister, who keeps me well fed at all times and provides tons of moral support, my father, who made the beautiful newspaper stands that now house our publications, and my mother, who used to drive me a combined four hours each day so that I could go to a Catholic high school and get into a wonderful university like Boston College.
We have come a long way together since I wrote my first article as a freshman. People like Marty Singerman have helped provide the vision for what this newspaper could be, and we have done our very best to implement changes to make this publication one of the best alternative collegiate student newspapers in the country. I want to thank the BC community for being open to our publication and for their readership. I have never regretted one instant I have spent working on this publication and it has been a true joy serving you. Thank you.
Sincerely,
