The Mast has a tradition of the graduating seniors writing good-bye letters to the school, and it is a bitter-sweet feeling for me now that it is my turn.
My time at The Mast began as a News Writer. When the paper needed a Copy Editor, I eagerly accepted the offer the then Editor-in-Chief, Jessica Trondsen, gave me.
Jessica quickly became my friend and mentor, both of us going out with the current General Manager of Mast TV, Allie Reynolds, to get nachos and dirty Shirleys at Farrelli’s.
I became the News Editor in Spring of 2014, and am now the Editor-in-Chief.
When Jessica was EIC, I knew we had an excellent captain at the helm. When I was named EIC right before summer vacation, I felt like a lowly news writer pretending to be the boss; I was worried I’d run the paper into the ground, the stories would be uninteresting and basically no one would care about The Mooring Mast.
The administration heads at Student Involvement and Leadership were changing the pay structure, too, which made me worried about hiring, making me more nervous about the coming year.
It also created a bitter taste in my mouth whenever I had to interact with administration, and I was worried I would have to butt heads with them throughout the year.
It turns out, I didn’t need to worry. Well, not too much at least.
I was blessed enough to have the most stellar, hard-working and overall excellent editors this year.
Whenever a challenge arose, be it a controversial story or sudden halt in production from the administration, the editors of The Mooring Mast were ready to help with solutions and support.
I owe them my thanks and more, they are under-appreciated and overworked, a combination where only the strong survive, which this ed-board certainly did.
Some of the problems that surfaced during the year at The Mast were internal, but some were brought in from the outside, mostly the administration.
Much like many outlets on campus experiencing PLU’s budget crisis, The Mast had become short on funds. We tried to keep ourselves afloat with ad sales, but those had been lower than projected.
As a result, it was a very likely this final issue wouldn’t be printed. The Mast editors got together to evaluate plans in order to ensure the paper could print its final issue.
It was the editors who decided how to save money, how to sell ads and how to ensure this publication that they love so much would be printed.
Some were willing to donate their paychecks to get it printed because they were so dedicated to having a final issue.
As EIC, I learned that I am not solely responsible for The Mooring Mast, that I am not the only leader in this group of people.
I am one of many, a team at the helm rather than one person on her own. I couldn’t have gone through this year without my team, especially during times of crisis brought on by outside forces.
I may not miss PLU when I walk across the graduation stage, but I will miss AUC 172 and all those who made The Mast possible this year. Thank you.
