End of a Chapter

It is interesting how sometimes years need to go by before we understand certain events in our lives. Although I never fully understood the value of journalism-until I edited a newspaper, that is-my first experience with it was when in eight grade I tried to create a news-magazine for my school. To the surprise of my teachers, I wrote a 20-page publication of sorts, using Microsoft Word and margins so wide that I would not have to write too much. And excited I went off to present to my elementary school's principal on why it was that we needed a newspaper. Just keep in mind I was doing this only a few months after NATO finished its bombing of my country, known as Yugoslavia at the time, and I was presenting this to a guy who became the principal decades ago, and more because of his allegiance to the former Communist Party than anything else. So, you guessed it, my attempt failed. Later on in high school, I even considered pursuing journalism as a career - but these thoughts soon evaporated once I realized that I had a talent for and took pleasure in "leading, with purpose." Nevertheless, I kept coming to journalism. My senior year in high school in the United States was marked with my writing and assisting in the journalism class. And then, as I mysteriously and quite unexpectedly found my way to St. Norbert, I was thrilled to have an opportunity to write for what I thought would be a splendid publication. Well, the first part was true, the second part less true, but it never occurred to me that only two years later I would embark upon a journey that was not only one of the most challenging but also one of the most rewarding in my life thus far.

It has not been easy building upon what many considered a dead newspaper, and facing a culture in which people's comfort level to deal with a vibrant, honest and challenging student publication was very low. Challenges that came-and continue to come-from the administration were numerous-and I trust that the dice of destiny played on our side by bringing us a journalist president will serve as a learning experience to all those who occasionally forget that the freedom of the press is what keeps us all safe and that intimidation will take you only so far. But as they say, what goes around comes around.

Amid the challenges, this journey has truly provided opportunities for learning and growth, perhaps even more than an average class could have (no offense meant to our expansive curriculum).

I have learned that journalism has an intrinsic value and lies at the core of any free society, including the one we claim to have in the United States.

I have learned that people will always complain and call your stories sensational or banal- at least up until you publish a story that works for them.

I have learned that the relationship with the administration is cyclical; at times good and at times bad; you just hope it never gets ugly. But it is certainly a two-way-street; something some people have yet to learn.

I have learned that by being at St. Norbert College we have an added support, perhaps even stronger than that of the United States Constitution, and that support is called Norbert of Xanten. He always pursued the truth, why shouldn't we? Besides, Jesus Christ challenged the comfortable, and comforted the challenges. Why wouldn't we?

I have learned that a courageous and bold attitude will always take you far-even when some serious injustices are done upon you and those that you care about-and when it hurts, you are still ahead of the game, because only the weak can act out of vengeance and because only very scared people will try to shut you down. Don't let them.

I have learned that being a good sport and putting your efforts in teamwork and building on people's talents will take any organization further ahead than fear, intimidation, firings, or even the sole focus on the quality of a product ever would.

I have learned that faculty members have a burning desire to speak up and remember the freedoms so dear to them. They just need to be reminded from time to time of why they got into academia in the first place (hint, hint).

I have learned that St. Norbert College is a flower that has yet to bloom. I just hope that people will remember that they are not here for themselves, but for the college as a whole - a college of the students and of the faculty.

Finally, I have learned that no matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words from the United States Constitution and it's First Amendment that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

While I still am not sure where my life path will take me, I know that no matter where I go, my passion for justice and freedom will never cease to exist. Having witnessed serious instances of injustice and a lack of freedom since my birth, I trust that my life's path will always, at least for a moment, lead me to journalism-an industry many consider to be dying, and which I firmly believe to be an industry that is perhaps more important than any other-a calling that challenges us to act out of our values and build upon our skills that are not there only for a job or one profession, but for life.

And before I close this chapter of my life, I must express my gratitude to a few people:

Thank you Bridget O'Connor for making it possible for me to enroll at St. Norbert College. I trust you never dreamed of the 'trouble' I would cause in the years that came after our first conversation.

Thank you Tom Kunkel for choosing St. Norbert as a place of your new challenge. I trust that you will never forget where you came from.