Hannah Gordon
Training Editor
I remember the first time I walked into The BV newsroom—a different one than we have now. Before the first floor of Robinson Hall was converted into freshman dorms, it was hallowed ground for journalism—for us BV’ers anyway.
The outdated rugs and furniture became a second home. My first week of my freshman year I was asked to join the editorial board as the assistant news editor. I looked forward to those late nights in the Rob newsroom. I was certain when our newsroom was moved into the basement of the Reilly Center that my BV experience would never be the same. I was right. Shortly after, I left to study in Prague, Czech Republic, and when I returned, most of the familiar faces had been replaced. Graduation took some of my best friends and turned them into people who I’d never seen before. I was managing editor then, and I wondered how I could possibly encourage and manage this staff if they’d never even seen me before.
My wariness soon subsided as new faces became fast friends. It turns out, it’s easy to bond when you’re all sleep deprived, deep into a BV Wednesday night (or is it Thursday morning?). The next semester, I became the editor-in-chief of the BV, which remains one of the best experiences I’ve had at Bonaventure.
Although I graduated in December, I’ve stuck around to complete my integrated marketing and mass communications master’s degree as the graduate assistant for the Jandoli School of Communication. This semester, I’ve been honored to continue as the training editor, helping young writers craft their voice and understand style. It’s been extremely rewarding to watch students grow and hone their writing more and more throughout the semester.
I won’t be officially in the editorial box next year, but I’ll be around until May 2018—and hopefully they’ll let me keep training new writers. I remember being in their shoes, and although those youngins probably don’t even realize their dorms were my original BV newsroom, each new face reminds me of where I started. And a little nostalgia never hurt anybody.
gordonhr13@ bonaventure.edu
