Who knew?
A senior's farewell
Dan Murphy
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: Opinion
Sitting on the brink of graduation is a scary feeling. As someone trying to break into the dying field of journalism in the worst recession of the past 80 years, I want nothing more than to start my four years at Saint Rose over again and shoot for a thriving profession once the economy has recovered. I'm also trying to cope with the fact that I will be, at best, the second most famous graduate of the Class of 2009 (You couldn't have waited 'til next year, Fallon?). With all the concerns and questions swirling around my head, I can take solace only in the notion that my time here was predominantly well spent. My success at Saint Rose is due in no small part to a laundry-list of people that have had profound impacts on both my academic career and life in general.
Karen McGrath, Mary Alice Molgard and Paul Conti have put up with me in numerous courses and have taught me invaluable lessons about patience and humility. David Alexander and Josh Jennings from Sports Information were endlessly accommodating to me and I most certainly could not have maintained my section this year without them.
Last year's Editor in Chief Geoff Arbuckle got me started with The Chronicle even though I worked during our weekly meetings. Cecelia Martinez and Alex Tunney showed me how to navigate the inner-workings of a college campus, the keys to overseeing other writers and the delicate balance between confidence and patience that it takes to hold our positions.
Truthfully though, I knew exactly what I wanted to say in this article the moment I became an editor. If I can impress anything on the student body at Saint Rose, it is that you will never have a more valuable resource at your hands than Dr. Cailin Brown Leary. Entering my junior year, I was rehabbing from major wrist surgery and coming off my first failed class since high school with no concrete plans for my future. I registered for Cailin's journalism class solely because it fit well into my schedule. She saw a talent in me that I wasn't even positive existed, pushed me to pursue writing and acted as a liaison between myself and The Chronicle when I couldn't attend meetings. Along the way, her constant assistance and encouragement kept me pressing on, all the way to an internship with The Troy Record. She is my foremost mentor, my most admired colleague and a truly dependable friend. Any success I have obtained in the field of journalism or go on to obtain in the future is 100 percent a result of Cailin's aid and compassion in the two short years I have known her.
What I'm getting at is this; utilize the amazing opportunities that this school affords you. Use Cailin. Use The Chronicle. Use the internship programs. As a freshman, I could never have fathomed all the things I could learn and accomplish outside of class. If you keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground, you will find everything you need right here on Western Avenue.
Finally, in closing and most importantly, I will leave you with the words my father taught me at the youngest of ages which have stuck with me throughout my 22 years on this lonely planet and have helped me through the toughest times of my life.
Let's go Mets.
Karen McGrath, Mary Alice Molgard and Paul Conti have put up with me in numerous courses and have taught me invaluable lessons about patience and humility. David Alexander and Josh Jennings from Sports Information were endlessly accommodating to me and I most certainly could not have maintained my section this year without them.
Last year's Editor in Chief Geoff Arbuckle got me started with The Chronicle even though I worked during our weekly meetings. Cecelia Martinez and Alex Tunney showed me how to navigate the inner-workings of a college campus, the keys to overseeing other writers and the delicate balance between confidence and patience that it takes to hold our positions.
Truthfully though, I knew exactly what I wanted to say in this article the moment I became an editor. If I can impress anything on the student body at Saint Rose, it is that you will never have a more valuable resource at your hands than Dr. Cailin Brown Leary. Entering my junior year, I was rehabbing from major wrist surgery and coming off my first failed class since high school with no concrete plans for my future. I registered for Cailin's journalism class solely because it fit well into my schedule. She saw a talent in me that I wasn't even positive existed, pushed me to pursue writing and acted as a liaison between myself and The Chronicle when I couldn't attend meetings. Along the way, her constant assistance and encouragement kept me pressing on, all the way to an internship with The Troy Record. She is my foremost mentor, my most admired colleague and a truly dependable friend. Any success I have obtained in the field of journalism or go on to obtain in the future is 100 percent a result of Cailin's aid and compassion in the two short years I have known her.
What I'm getting at is this; utilize the amazing opportunities that this school affords you. Use Cailin. Use The Chronicle. Use the internship programs. As a freshman, I could never have fathomed all the things I could learn and accomplish outside of class. If you keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground, you will find everything you need right here on Western Avenue.
Finally, in closing and most importantly, I will leave you with the words my father taught me at the youngest of ages which have stuck with me throughout my 22 years on this lonely planet and have helped me through the toughest times of my life.
Let's go Mets.
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