Every graduating Virginia Tech student has one or two organizations they most identify with on campus. Many people have fraternities or sororities, athletics, clubs, etc., while I have the Collegiate Times.
My three years at the CT have provided me with an abundance of experiences to which, without the newspaper, I would have ever been privileged.
Rather than use my last column to run down that laundry list of exceptional memories I'll take with me away from Blacksburg in the coming days, I think this space would be better utilized by thanking my enablers.
First and foremost, I have to thank my parents for working hard and saving enough money that I was able to take the job I loved during college, not one where the hourly rate was the bottom line.
The guys at WSET (Dan West and Dennis Carter) got me into sports journalism in high school, and the staff at the Collegiate Times has worked with me as I gained experience and improved my talents in the field.
Former sports editor Adam Abramson made sure I got some great experience from the get-go and allowed me to cover my favorite sport, basketball, after only working at the paper for a few months.
While Abramson allowed me to gain experience and taught me some of the fundamentals of sports writing, it has been Kelly Furnas, our editorial adviser, who has guided me in the right direction along the way. Kelly, thanks for helping me learn how to better go about the journalistic process and being available for lunch on a regular basis.
While the CT's staff helped with the writing, the Virginia Tech Athletics Communications staff has been great in making sure I was able to get the interviews and credentials needed to put a story together. Special thanks are in order for Bill Dyer, who put up with me and our staff at countless basketball games involving the Hokies.
Despite all of those that made sure I was able to write, it was the coaches and players who really contributed to the finished product. I couldn't have asked for better people to work with on my first beat than head soccer coach Oliver Weiss, his staff and players.
Even though soccer was my first beat, basketball has been the largest recipient of my time, and Seth Greenberg has made it well worth the investment.
Greenberg is the best when it comes to giving the students the time of day. He has given the student body his time, money and efforts to make its collective college experience a better one.
I really think that it was because of his commitment to the students that he gave me the time of day and treated me as well, if not better than, the other beat writers. Coach, I'm sure I've annoyed you at times, but thank you for always giving me access to you, your staff and family.
Also, basketball secretary Sharon Spradlin and Mrs. Greenberg each deserve a lot of credit for always working to get me in touch with Coach when I needed to speak with him regarding one matter or another.
I could not have covered sports as frequently as I did without understanding instructors and professors. Roland Lazenby, Hayward Farrar and Joann Harvill have all been very accommodating in allowing me to, at times, tailor my academic obligations around my extracurricular ones.
When you spend as much time on paper-related activities as I have, you're bound to make some friends along the way. Amie Steele and Joe Kendall have both been great to spend time with, whether it be on press row, in the newsroom or in one of downtown Blacksburg's many fine establishments. I've enjoyed hanging out with you both.
Finally, I've got to thank my girlfriend Jenny who, at times over the last year-and-a-half, has taken a backseat to sports while not giving me any real grief about it.
So, in
closing, I'd like to thank everyone at the Collegiate Times and those
I've worked with on assignments that have, in any fashion, helped me
along the way. You have all helped me in one way or another get the job
done and have some fun along the way.
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