Kibbe found unexpected passion

I came to St. Bonaventure absolutely certain that I wanted to be a broadcaster. I wanted to be on the radio or on television. I wanted nothing to do with writing. When a professor informed me that one must be able to write well to be on television, I resigned myself to a few semesters of writing. “Just until I can be on TV,” I told myself.
When I arrived on campus in August 2014, I immediately signed up for a show on the campus radio station. With a great deal less enthusiasm, I asked my sister, Amelia, The BV’s Features editor at the time, about writing for the paper. “Only sports,” I told her. “And not many articles. Just a few here and there.”
A week later, I got my first assignment: a 500-word article about the golf team. I dutifully wrote my article and submitted it. I came to the newsroom the next night to find it covered in different colors, each splash of color marking a mistake I’d made. Embarrassed, I fixed each problem, then got up to leave. As I headed to the door, the editor-in-chief looked up and said, “That’s the best first article I’ve ever seen. We’re glad to have another Kibbe.” Other editors treated me even more warmly. When the sports editor asked for another golf article the next week, I readily accepted, eager to impress my new superiors.
Before I knew it, I had dropped my radio show and was the paper’s sports editor. I still preferred broadcasting, but the kindness of The BV staff had won me over. I was one of them now. The kid who did not want to write was cranking out several stories a week and editing all the sports articles.
Four years later, I look back fondly on those days. Not because of the writing, but because of the people. I got to spend hours and hours with my sister every Wednesday night. She served as Editor-in-Chief when I ran the sports section, and I’ve never learned more from any other boss. Mostly, I learned words, which were hurled in my direction with unimaginable vigor and aren’t fit to print, but I learned a little about writing, too. Amelia still is, and will always be, my favorite boss. Wednesday nights in the newsroom simply aren’t the same without her.
Family aside, The BV has also introduced me to some of the best people I know. I met my two best friends here, Dominic LoVallo and Emily Losito. The time I spend with them in the newsroom is often the best part of my week.
As my time with the paper draws to a close, I won’t miss the late nights or the EIC telling me to send my story back to her “when it doesn’t suck.” But I’ll miss the people like crazy. The BV staff is one big, dysfunctional family, and I don’t want to leave the club that I never wanted to join.