By Angel Roggie
Associate Editor
Walking in to the BV during Welcome Days, I was really nervous. My high school didn’t have anything communications-related except yearbook, so I didn’t know how I would fit in the newspaper world. The staff went around and introduced themselves. Two blonde girls representing the features section caught my attention. They said I could write anything from movie reviews to profile pieces for feats. So I went to talk to them, and from then on I became a part of the BV family.
If it wasn’t for the blonde duo of Emilee Lindner and Elizabeth Grady, I would have never entered the world of AP style and comma splices as soon as I did. They were there for me in the early stages of my writing—when things weren’t so pretty—and their dedication molded me into a better writer.
Before my sophomore year began, Kaitlin Lindahl and Alexandra Salerno asked me to work with them as the assistant features editor. So, thank you to you both for thinking I had the chops and for bringing me in to the late Wednesday nights and Quark eccentricities. Extra thanks has to go to Kaitlin for training me for the jump to features editor in a matter of a few weeks—your patience when I first started laying pages was greatly appreciated.
After running feats with a dynamic and hilarious team (that’s you Kerri Linsenbigler and Matt Laurrie) the second half of my sophomore year, I worked my first junior semester as an associate editor and then was offered the managing editor position by one of my closest friends/roommates and then-Editor-in-Chief, Mary Best. We were going to conquer the college newspaper, and I will forever be grateful for your faith in me as a leader. Also, Mare Bear, I’m still sorry I had to leave the position after I received my internship in D.C. You handled finding my replacement beautifully. Thanks must also go to Carole McNall and Anne Lee for helping me break the news to my staff and for being a constant resource to me while I was off chilling with Joe Biden.
Thank you to the entire faculty of the J-School. You all added to my BV education and ultimately taught me what it takes to be an editor. To the Wrecking Crew, you inspired some great writing, and I’ll never forget the philosophical arguments we had that further shaped my perspective. Finally, to the ladies of Townhouse 124, you have been the best roommates and friends I could’ve asked for. You were the support and love I needed and you taught me how to have fun and get work done.
The BV has been my home the past four years. There were late nights passed out on the couch next to sexual harassment tiger, McDonald’s runs and arguing over sentence structure. But it is a place I love. The BV made me realize that being a writer isn’t such a crazy idea. In fact, all writers are a bit crazy.
Now it’s off to Disney World, where I hope to don some Mickey Mouse ears and my BV hoodie.
