By Kolin Kriner
Freshman year I never expected my life would take a turn for what I believe to be the better. I was 17, unsure of where I wanted to end up. I switched my major nine times that semester, the anxiety of the future eating at my gut.
Right before sophomore year, I joined the public relations major solely because I thought the name sounded cool. This ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made.
I owe a lot of this to Colleen Lemza, my academic adviser. She made college feel like real life. She was tough at times, but I am so thankful for that, because it made the work I was doing feel impactful, not just a random assignment attached to a lecture.
She pushed me to do the most I could with what was offered to me, which has now developed into me graduating with four internships and several practicums on my resume. One of these was Cardinal Points.
The following semester, I decided to pick up Cardinal Points as an elective credit to write movie reviews for the opinion section of the paper. Little did I know the paper would become part of my life for nearly half my college career.
The semester after I became the public relations chair to further compliment my degree. This position gave me a look into the newsroom. Here I got to really know the impact the paper had, but not just the paper itself, but the editor faces behind it.
Fast forward to this semester. I decided to pick up a double major in journalism and took on the role as the opinion editor. Design was satisfying, but what really made the experience great was the friends I made with my fellow editors.
We were put in a position to grow close as we would work together for hours a week to produce something great.
Cardinal Points was a small portion of my college experience as a whole, but in reality it has been one of the best parts of it. I became friends with my coworkers, and so many memories have been made behind the door of 118 Ward Hall.
If it wasn’t for a random decision I made my freshman year, so many of my favorite memories would have never existed. Journalism has become something very important to me. It’s the foundation of information and without it the world would be in shambles.
Jack Downs has done an amazing job teaching me this importance in the classroom setting, and my fellow editors Michael Purtell, Lillian Murray, Grant Terwilliger, Justin Rushia, Emma Deo and Jayne Smith taught me that what makes a great newsroom is the people within.
I am excited for the next chapter in my life. I will be attending Colorado State University to pursue my masters in student affairs in higher education to continue the legacy Cardinal Points has taught me to make student voices heard.
It may have taken 10 majors to find where I belong, but the journey is more important than the destination.
