Thank you The Concordian

Closing on a great chapter with The Concordian

I had always been told that getting experience in journalism was important before finishing university and trying to find a job. My time with The Concordian these last two-and-a-half years has been one of the best experiences I could hope for as an aspiring sports journalist.

During my first semester at Concordia University, I attended a conference in which The Concordian’s team at the time spoke to us about the paper. Nicholas Di Giovanni, sports editor at the time, talked about the sports section of the newspaper and how to get involved.

It didn’t take long for me to start covering Concordia Stingers games and writing articles for The Concordian. I saw an opportunity to share my passion for sports with everyone. I was lucky enough to quickly be offered the assistant sports editor position in my first semester on campus, and for that, I want to thank Di Giovanni.

His trust, but also his help and time during my first year with The Concordian, is something I can’t put into words. I don’t know what exactly he saw in me, but by giving me this role, he helped me start a great chapter with The Concordian.

To have the chance to cover Stingers games and interview athletes and coaches has been something really special. It was especially unique during that first year as assistant sports editor, since I wasn’t doing a lot of sports interviews on a regular basis.

It was no surprise I would apply for the sports editor position in my second year. I didn’t get the role, as I remained assistant, but it ended up being the best thing for me. This time, I was working with Matthew Ohayon.

To have two different editors in two years with the team was really helpful. It showed me different working methods and made me learn even more. I quickly realized that there are so many ways to approach things and work with stories.

I think it really helped me with who I am today, writing this last piece as sports editor of The Concordian. When I applied for the role again, in my third year, I was way more ready for this position than I was when I applied at the beginning of my second.

I’m not saying you should not apply for an editor position in your first two years. However, you should not be ashamed at all of being in an assistant role for consecutive years. After all, I would be lying if I told you that my goal, when starting out with The Concordian, wasn’t to end up leading the sports section one day.

I was looking forward to writing weekly Colour Commentary pieces, deciding pitches and learning even more things again this year. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing me to look at things a bit differently than I imagined them, it’s been a wonderful experience.

I’ve been blessed to have Liam Sharp as assistant sports editor. In his first year with The Concordian, Sharp has brought some of the most original stories I’ve seen for our sports section since I joined the staff. He’s behaved like he’s been on the team for a few years now. For that, I thank you my friend. Your dedication and professionalism have been remarkable all year long.

I can’t believe it’s already been two-and-a-half years since I joined the team. I also can’t believe those are the last words I’m writing for The Concordian. I wish there were more stories to write so I could ask more grammar and structure questions to my copy editor friend Abigail Candelora.

To be honest, I’ve probably been asking questions every week to the copy editing team. For that, I want to say thank you, but also sorry. I owe you all a coffee when we finally can meet in person.

To this year’s staff, you’ve been amazing. I’ve never seen such an amazing group of people, full of energy and willing to share ideas each week. It’s amazing to think we’ve never met, because it feels like that’s not the case. This has been a really special group. I’m not the one who always talks or gives his opinion, but I’ve always felt included in everything. I’ve always felt like everyone was part of the team and important.

To Lillian Roy, Chloë Lalonde and Jacob Carey, a huge thank you. Please, never change, because you truly are great people. You treated us all fairly and have always been there when there was a problem. As leaders of The Concordian for this academic year, I could not have asked for anyone better.

On that, it’s a wrap folks. Don’t forget the Montreal Canadiens play the Calgary Flames tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Bell Centre. For my part, I’m probably going to be on a tennis court as usual. See ya.

 

Graphic by Rose-Marie Dion

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