By Kevin Rogers
Editor-in-Chief
After fifty-two issues of The Bona Venture, it’s time for me to say my goodbyes to this legendary place and its magnificent residents.
Though it hasn’t always been a summer drive on a freshly-paved highway, I can’t say I regret a moment spent in this newsroom. And though this particular newsroom will cease to exist in a few weeks, the memories of this place will stick around.
I owe a lot to this paper. When I was a freshman, I had a goal to land an internship in Washington, D.C., during an election year. The BV gave me an opportunity to write about issues I cared about and get my conservative diatribes published. Those early clips helped me achieve that goal and more; I figured I owed it to the paper to serve as an editor.
I had expected to pay my dues for three semesters before signing out of Op/Ed, editing a few pages and enjoying $2 pitchers at Fat Heads on Wednesday nights. I never expected to wind up leading the paper as editor-in-chief, but I’m certainly happy that it wound up that way.
It’s been a fantastic trip working for this paper. In addition to becoming a better writer and getting a chance to lead, I’ve met some of the best people imaginable. Which of course leads to the much-anticipated “thank you” section of this farewell.
First, I’d like to thank the previous EICs I’ve worked under, Alexandra Salerno, Mary Best and Sam Berkhead for setting strong precedents for leadership. I’d like to offer an extra thanks to Sam for promoting me despite my limited editorial experience.
I’d also like to extend my gratitude to the faculty of the journalism school. Thanks to our adviser Prof. McNall for her guidance, story ideas and constantly helpful advice. To Dr. Lee, Prof. Lee and Prof. Vecchio for their thoughtful critiques and suggestions for improvements. To Dean Hoffmann for her constant support for this paper. And as a student, to Dr. Wilkins and Dr. Mackowski for helping me figure out this journalism thing in class.
I also need to extend thanks to all the grand people who made my time at The BV an uproarious delight. To Nate, for being the best second-in-command an editor-in-chief could dream of. To Taylor for taking an extra term as sports editor and consistently generating some of the best writing I’ve ever read. To Matt for jumping aboard opinion and putting out a top-notch section each week. To Kiara for leading the most efficient news section of any newspaper in the world. To Emma for running an absurdly professional and effective ship at features. To Heather, Kerri and Al-Sal for bearing the brunt of our desking and editing. To Harrison for sharing his magnificent tales from olde Europe. To Sean and Kyle for their dynamic distribution duo. To my fellow seniors Sara, Angel, Emily and Deirdre for their help, professionalism and long-term service to The BV. You all rank among the best people I’ve ever met.
Finally, I wish the future BV under the kingly Nate West nothing but the best. I’m confident this venerable paper is in the very best of hands as it heads to a new newsroom and a new era of excellence.
Godspeed and excelsior!
