Alex Patton, Managing Editor
My time with The Sentinel has truly been the highlight of my college experience. To incoming students, especially journalism and communication students, I cannot stress enough the importance of actively pursuing your passion while you are still in school.
Working with this team has taught me more about my profession and myself than any class I have taken, and has opened doors for me to continue to work in this field after school — a privilege that not every student has.
People come and go from The Sentinel every semester but one thing is always the same: No matter what roadblocks we face or fires we have to put out in production, there is always a paper the next day.
My writing professors will hate the cliché, but The Sentinel staff really has become like a family to me. I have worked with this paper for three semesters, with three different editorial teams, and I have never met a more insightful or hilarious group of people.
This paper would be nothing without the dedication and passion of our writers, photographers, graphic designers, cartoonists, engagement directors, editors and student media advisors. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with you all.
Madeline McGee, News Editor
In the whirlwind year I’ve been working with The Sentinel, I’ve seen both the best and worst of this university. I’ve covered tragedy and heroism, outrage and change, corruption and generosity — sometimes all within the same day, it seems. I’ve had the privilege of meeting people of all perspectives, and of sharing their stories and passions with you, the reader.
It’s been an exhilarating journey, and I’ve learned a great deal from it, but no lesson has been greater than this: you, reader, are a force for good. I’ve had a front row seat to some of the university’s most tumultuous changes, and I’ve witnessed what happens when informed readers carry the banner of truth. I’m humbled to have been a part of that.
While I will miss the conversations you and I have together on these pages, I know that as long as you continue to keep yourself informed and continue to demand truth, our campus will always tend toward good.
I’m forever grateful to my family at The Sentinel for shaping me into the person I am and helping me to discover who I want to be. Thank you for the adventure.
Ryan Basden, Photo Editor
I once read somewhere that the biggest mistake a journalism student could make is not joining the school newspaper.
If I remember correctly, it was because graduates with no newsroom experience are less likely to get a job in their field. I initially applied so I could be marketable, but it’s hardly the reason I’m glad I joined and certainly isn’t why it’s so difficult to leave.
Working with such driven, passionate people who share goals is an experience some people never have in their working lives. I’ve only spent a semester working with The Sentinel’s editorial staff and have still learned more from this team than any class in four years of university.
Long hours and difficult challenges in the newsroom have fostered friendships and great potential for future ventures.
Going through my last semester at KSU without the Sentinel will feel a bit empty, but I’m excited to see how this group of journalists with strong convictions about fighting for the public will impact the world in the future.
I wouldn’t trade my time spent here for anything.
Rebekah Fuchko, Opinion Editor
While I’ve only been an editor at The Sentinel for nearly a semester, I’ve been a part of the staff for two years, and the time I’ve spent here has been some of the best in my entire academic career at KSU.
Being a part of a news team has fostered a level of thinking that I will continue to carry with me, even after graduation in December. It’s bittersweet to think I’ll never spend another long Monday working at production in the newsroom ― a mix of laughter and getting down to business. And coffee. Lots of coffee.
College prepares you for a lot, but this last semester as opinion editor has taught me more about being a journalist than my classes ever could. I’ve made some mistakes ― and I’m sure they won’t be my last ― but that’s what learning and growing are all about.
Being a part of the newsroom ― I’ll miss it. I’ll miss the editing process. I’ll miss communicating with my writers to help them put forth their best work. But most of all, I’ll miss the friendships I’ve built with my co-workers ― my fellow editors ― and what we accomplished every week as a team.
Raychle Wilkinson, Arts and Living Editor
Working at The Sentinel has been life-changing, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
When I first started at Kennesaw State in fall 2015, I had no friends and no social life. My sister, who attended KSU at the time, worked for The Sentinel, and she and the others who worked there were kind enough—or pitied me enough—to let me hang around in the office on production days. The Sentinel quickly became my family at KSU.
Though the only other person at The Sentinel today who worked there when I first joined is Cory Hancock, the editor-in-chief, the feeling of family, of community, has been a constant.
The people at this newspaper have supported me and pushed me to broaden my horizons, consider foreign viewpoints and improve my writing in ways that I never expected.
As the only English major on staff at the paper, my opinions on writing have often been challenged by my coworkers, but this always happens in a very productive way that pushes us all to grow.
Through The Sentinel, I’ve made amazing friends, and I’ve gained incredible opportunities. Though it’s my time to move on from the organization, I’ll always think back on my time there fondly, and I know that its future staff will continue to improve the paper.