When I agreed to write a senior editorial, I wasn’t sure whether I should reflect on my four years at Wooster or offer valuable advice to underclassmen who have yet to do things like declare a major, study abroad, start I.S., finish I.S., etc.
However, as I sit here the night before we lay out the paper, I don’t feel particularly qualified to do either of these things. For one, I am 21 years old. I need to save my reflections for when I’m middle-aged so that I can fondly refer to college as “the golden years” without hesitation. Secondly, I haven’t graduated yet, so I’m not sure if “do what you love and everything will work out” is entirely accurate, but I’ll report my findings in 10 years (note: I am a History major).
And so, because I wholly trust my highly intelligent and thoughtful co-editors to offer better insight into their college experiences than I can (to be fair, my insight sounded like the brochures they give prospective students), I’ve resorted to sharing why I am so thankful that I joined this publication two years ago.
As an easily intimidated sophomore looking to get more involved on campus, I think I approached the Voice office twice before I actually walked through the doors. Fortunately, on my third attempt, I ran into someone I knew in the hallway and figured they would think I was weird if I turned around so I went in and began copyediting.
While I love hunting for Oxford commas as much as the next guy, it was the conversations in the office that caused me to stay. I enjoyed listening to the staff discuss campus wide issues, grammar structure and Mariah Joyce’s disdain for those who overuse exclamation points (sorry, Mariah!!!!). Additionally, writing articles, specifically for the Features section, gave me the opportunity to speak with many students about their extracurricular involvement, research interests and service trips.
From these interviews and exchanges, I’ve found that Wooster students do insanely cool things. They pursue their passions and strive to make the College a more welcoming and inclusive community. I can only hope that this will continue in the years to come.
So if you have a strong sense of social justice, find your peers interesting, appreciate some goofs or want an inside scoop on what’s happening at the College, I encourage you to come copyedit next year. In my opinion, there is no better way to spend a Tuesday night. And if you want some real advice, ask me in 10 years. I might have a worthwhile answer by then.
Theresa Dunne, Features Editor for the Voice, can be reached for comment at TDunne17@wooster.edu