I don’t think I realized way back, when I was just three mere months into my college career, what I would be signing up for when I told the editor-in-chief at the time, Nick Carroll, FCRH ’12, that I would gladly accept the position of assistant news editor, even though I was crushed that I didn’t get offered assistant sports editor.
I certainly didn’t think that taking the position would mean giving up Sunday nights, Monday nights and Tuesday nights to spend locked in the depths of McGinley. I didn’t think it would mean consuming more coffee than what’s probably safe in the twelve-hour span from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. I didn’t think it would mean learning the ins and outs of journalism on the fly while interviewing students, faculty and administrators. And, I most certainly didn’t think I would walk away from the position with a family.
It’s really funny, actually, how that happens when all of you are stuck in the same space multiple times a week. You grow to love and care for these people as if you were friends for your entire life. In reality, you might be closer to them than some of the friends you have known for much longer, because of the many hours spent confined together.
I know for certain that I had never taken spontaneous trips to Best Deli to get dinner at 11:30 p.m., and ended up having a heart to heart with many of my other friends. I’ve never willingly gone out of my way to spend extra time with people I had just seen for 12 hours straight until I became a member of The Fordham Ram. It may have taken my Tuesday nights, but it’s given me so much more.
To my entire Volume 96 staff, I can’t express how much I love each and every one of you. We’re an eclectic group, that’s for sure, ranging from our football manager/sports editor to our band leading opinion editor to our pre-med assistant copy chief to our Ireland-bound photo editor. I don’t know if any of us would have crossed paths without The Fordham Ram, but you’ve made an incredibly deep impression on my life.
To my fellow seniors — Max, Katie N., Mike, Matt and Ricky — we made it. Matt and Ricky, it’s felt like ages since the three of us began in the print shop as measly assistants. To Max and Katie N., who joined our family in Volume 95 and to Mike who joined us this year, we’re all feeling the loss of leaving our home of these last few years. It’s one of the first goodbyes on our road to the inevitable date in May.
To Connor Ryan, my mentor and former Ram staffer, we may have had some differences this year, but you were the first one who taught me what it takes to be a good journalist, and for that I will be forever grateful.
To my parents, because without them, this run at The Fordham Ram would have never been possible, thank you for always helping me and encouraging me to strive for my dreams.
To Katie M., Laura, Anthony, Amanda, Nicole, Christian and Chip, I hope you take what you learned from Volume 96 and carry it forward to Volume 97.
To Joe, there are so many reasons I could say thank you. You have been my rock for this last volume — the person I go to when something is wrong with the issue, the person I go to for ideas, advice, suggestions, the person that can take my crazed 3 a.m. state over a misprinted headline and turn it into a joke, the person who had to deal with sitting next to me for the last 22 Tuesdays. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you and how thrilled I am that you will be the next editor-in-chief of The Fordham Ram. You and Katie M. will be tremendous leaders of Volume 97, I have no doubt in my mind.
Change is a part of life, and one that I am slowly growing to accept, however, throughout my years at Fordham, The Fordham Ram has been the one constant. During that time, I’ve gained friends, I’ve lost friends, I’ve changed residence halls, I’ve declared a major and a minor, I’ve earned almost 100 credits, I’ve celebrated three birthdays and I’ve held three different positions on this newspaper. So much has changed in my life over that time, but the one thing that remained was that every Tuesday when 5 p.m. rolled around, I would be headed to McGinley, to my home in B-52 and B-48.
That won’t be the case for me and my fellow seniors come next semester, our final semester here at Fordham, probably the time when we will experience the most change.
It’ll be sad at first when that time rolls around and I will no longer have to grab my keys and head over. I won’t have to worry about having cash to pay for take-out or my charger because I know I will last longer in the office than my phone.
I don’t know what I’m going to do with my Tuesdays, since it’s something I haven’t had to think about in a long time. What I do know is, as I type these few words, I leave The Fordham Ram with more than I ever could have imagined.
And, while I don’t know what I’m going to do with my Tuesdays, I’m certain I’ll keep my Wednesdays open to see my favorite people.
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Kelly Kultys is the editor-in-chief of The Fordham Ram.
