I vividly remember The Daily Illini info session I attended as a freshman.

I sat in the middle of Room 100 of Greg Hall, alone, confused and completely unsure if I even wanted to be a journalism major. I had been in the state for less than a month after leaving my home in sunny San Diego for central Illinois. I hadn’t even seen snow yet.

It never crossed my mind that three and a half years later I would find myself writing this goodbye column in my last paper as the editor-in-chief of The Daily Illini.

The past year has been crazy. The Cubs won the World Series, a new chancellor was named, there was a shooting in the heart of campus and so much more. Through the ups and downs, the DI has worked tirelessly to cover it.

That hard work was recognized as the best in the state. We won the Illinois College Press Association awards for General Excellence and Best Online News Site. A total of 28 awards were given to the DI, with 11 of those being first place awards. This has been a testament to the dedication of the DI staff.

Thank you to the people who work at the DI and inspire me everyday. They have immense talent, an unbelievable work ethic and different backgrounds and circumstances that stack the odds against them. No matter what, they have persevered  to make sure we get the information out to you, the reader.

And finally, a thank you to the readers.

You are the reason we work so hard. We try our best to bring you the truth. Just know that the DI is a place of learning. Everyone here is learning to become better journalists. There will be mistakes and mishaps, but we are still dedicated to serving the public. Try your best to help the DI, with constructive criticism, phone calls, emails and whatever else you can to help us get better.

I have no doubt the strong tradition will continue during the next year.

At 5 p.m. on Friday, Lillian Barkley will be taking over as editor-in-chief. I know she will do an amazing job, and her team will take the DI to new heights.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Roger Ebert, renowned film critic and former DI editor-in-chief. It sums up my philosophy for my work at the DI for the past four years.

“What I believe is that all clear-minded people should remain two things throughout their lifetimes: Curious and teachable.”

Thanks for reading.

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