“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us” —J.R.R. Tolkien.
Because, how could I not end my senior year with a quote from Gandalf? But also because, the best decision I made in the time given to me at Bonaventure was, without question, joining The BV.
My first assignment for The BV was during my sophomore year, covering the men’s rugby beat. I only landed this gig because some joe named Zach Waltz posted on our class page that the paper desperately needed this position filled.
Hey, I was decent at writing, so why not? And so it began.
Two years later, I can’t thank Zach enough. He got me started, he turned out to be one of the best guys I’ve ever met and he helped me through many 2 a.m. layout malfunctions in my early opinion editor days.
Zach, thanks for everything bud.
I’m not a typical BVer, per say. I was on and off with my contributing writing for sports, but when my pal Nate West took over the opinion section and asked me to write, well, the rest is history. He handed me the editor position with one week’s notice, after only one semester of writing for the section. I was mortified, but it turned out to be the best move I could have made.
I was the only person in the newsroom who hadn’t been an assistant editor. Before my junior year I’d never spent any length of time down in the RC basement. I figured I would be laughed out of my position because I had no idea what the hell I was doing.
Absolutely not the case.
I was unanimously welcomed onto the crew on the first night. Help was all around me. Within days I was using my not-so-ladylike language in front of people I had only just met (winning myself the Potty Mouth Award at our end of semester banquet, might I add). I had found my place: the newsroom at odd hours of the night.
I look forward to Wednesday nights because I love the people around me. I love giving Kono and Jon crap from across the table. I love Liam’s witty remarks as he casually bangs out six stories in an hour because he writes for every single paper at this damn school. I love Emmy’s 1 a.m. “why did I agree to this” face and her determination to making pristine feats pages. I love talking feminism with Hannah and anticipating Lian and Amelia’s McDonald’s breaks. I love listening to Corey and Julia bicker next to a quietly focused Rachel as she just tries, for the love of God, to finish her endless pages of layout. And I absolutely love talking to Diana about life–she just gets me, man (and let me tell you, that’s saying something).
I have loved working with everybody at this place, even if it was for a short time.
There’s something sacred about this newsroom. Something that can really only be understood by those who have been here.
Thank you to the professors who critiqued, the people who read and above all, those who I was privileged enough to share this all with.
Emily Mulcahey is an Associate Editor for The Bona Venture. Her email is mulcahek12@bonaventure.
