The Post is going out with a bang this year.
These next two weeks, the print editions in your hand will each be a special issue. We’ll soon celebrate stories from across Appalachia and our wonderful graduating class, of which I’m a part. All this to say, it’s time for my formal goodbye column to make way for all the special content coming out in the last weeks of the year.
I’ve spent so much of my senior year telling myself there was plenty of time to check off the last things on my Athens bucket list: to visit all of the Athens bars, to hike at The Ridges, to make as many memories with friends as possible before parting ways. But the following is a cliche for a reason: time flies and, before you know it, days melt into years.
Unfortunately, a fair number of those days were either spent in my childhood bedroom or confined to my Athens apartment. The COVID-19 pandemic was a massive barrier to what I could check off that Athens bucket list, but I feel grateful to be fully back on campus this year, attending in-person classes and meeting some of my fellow Posties who I had previously only seen on Zoom calls.
I’ll let you all in on a secret: I didn’t always want to be editor-in-chief of The Post. As a freshman, I wasn’t even sure what student organizations I wanted to devote my time to. I arrived on campus a nervous, homesick, out-of-state student who was longing to find their new senses of belonging. I am beyond grateful to have found that at The Post.
To me and so many others on our staff, The Post’s newsroom in Baker 325 is so much more than just a newsroom. It’s our second home. Within its walls, we’ve laughed, cried and drank way too much coffee from Front Room Coffeehouse. From the electric rush of reporting breaking news on election night to meeting some of my best friends, my college experience is anchored to The Post, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The only journalistic experience I had prior to OU was a single journalism class my senior year of high school. Put quite plainly, I cringe looking at my first stories for The Post. I’ve now published nearly 300 articles, writing about everything from local politics to astrology. The pride I associate with these pieces is all thanks to the amazing editors and colleagues I’ve had here.
I would not be the journalist I am today without The Post and the opportunities it has given me. Through my many roles, I’ve learned hard, valuable lessons about what it means to be a journalist — and a leader. There has been nothing better than getting out of the classroom and exploring Athens with my reporter’s notebook. Southeast Ohio is special, and I’m grateful to have gotten to know this community.
The many goodbyes and lasts of the rest of the semester are going to be difficult, but a piece of my heart will always be in Baker 325.
Thank you to all of my family, friends, professors and fellow Posties who have helped me through my college experience and made me the journalist — and person — I am today. Your support means the world to me.
And finally, thank you, The Post. Being this year’s editor-in-chief is an honor I will never forget.
Abby Miller is a senior studying journalism and political science at Ohio University and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Have questions? Email Abby at am166317@ohio.edu or tweet her @abblawrence.
