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I attended my first Arka Tech meeting in 2019 in a blink of an eye, it’s now 2023, and I’m saying goodbye. So here is my story.
The first few weeks of college life were not smooth sailing for me. I was miserable and debating if Tech was the right fit for me. But that first meeting changed everything for me. It was my saving grace. I remember walking out of the room and calling my mom to tell her I was writing for the campus newspaper. I was so excited. I ended the call with the line, “I’m gonna be the editor one day” I was really manifesting that idea from the beginning.
I wrote three opinions until I found my calling in writing news. I have always been a noisy Nancy, and news was the perfect way to learn the story before others; it also allowed me to meet new people and fit my personality.
From there, I started branching out into other areas of Arka Tech. Writing features, taking photos, and reworking the social media pages. Always keeping in mind my goal of one day running the paper.
In 2021, I finally reached that goal, and it felt so good. I had put in the work and was ready to expand The Arka Tech with new plans and goals to help the paper succeed.
The first semester being an editor was definitely a learning curve. The first time I put together a newspaper, we started at noon and did not finish until 5 a.m., which seems insane now, but I had no clue about the struggles that went into creating a paper.
Some of you might not know, but we (the team) do everything from content to layout; it’s genuinely a student newspaper. When you have parts of the team missing, someone picks up the slack-we had parts missing which meant a lot fell on me that semester.
It was a trial by fire for sure; however, I would not change it for the world. Within that semester, we found a webmaster and layout designer and grew our staff.
During my time as editor, we expanded the social media following while creating a radio show and featuring new content like short stories in the paper. We created our first video and won numerous Arkansas College Media Association awards. We became an RSO and started to be active faces on campus. Tabling at events like the Involvement Fair, Time Out for Tech and Boo Bash.
I have put my heart and soul into The Arka Tech, and don’t get me wrong; there have been times when it would have been easier to walk away from the Tuesday breakdowns, but I have loved my role. I have made many friends and learned new skills because The Arka Tech pushed me out of my comfort zone. My college experience would not have been the same without the paper.
I am truly thankful that I was able to be an editor. I would like to take this moment and thank the staff members who trusted me with their voices. I would also like to thank my editor Johnan who dealt with my “bossiness,” and our faculty advisor Tommy Mumert for believing in me.
I wish my best to the following editors.
