During my last two years of high school, I spent lots of time gaining excitement for the future. I knew I wanted to do some type of sports coverage, whether it was on-air or online, and I had heard good things from NKU’s programs.

I had loved sports for so much of my life. I started playing basketball when I was five so that I wouldn’t hear my dad hollering to me during my games (he is very competitive, and was always shouting support during my tee ball games). When I was in fourth grade though, I could play basketball for my elementary school and started to get into the game.

I grew up loving University of Kentucky basketball with my family, so I spent lots of weekends watching their games after playing my own. During football season, I started getting books to learn about football, and I was quickly spending plenty of time asking my dad 1,000 questions about every game.

Sports had become my upbringing, and whether I was playing or watching it, I was more than happy.

I was finishing up knocking out lots of my pre-requisites as a member of the Young Scholars Academy, and while I was extremely excited about the schooling and experiences I could have in sports at NKU, high school graduation seemed bittersweet. So many of my friends would be attending different schools and others would quickly become busy with the majors they would choose.

I had gone into my first year of college with the mindset of, “I will only be here for a couple years, so I don’t care about making friends. I just want to get my grades and graduate with experience.”

For the most part, I did exactly that in my first year. I had met up with a few other students who had interest in doing sports radio broadcasting, and we had organized the equipment and schedule to get our first experience in the field. I kept to myself for the most part, spending my time doing my homework and taking notes for the Norse women’s basketball games that we would broadcast.

I had no interest in going to hangout with new classmates when the next year rolled around. I had started the semester in a deep mental hole, as I found myself lacking the drive and determination to go to the gym and get out of bed to attend class. While this is something many college students experience, I had no joy in anything I did.

I tried to stay busy to get my mind off things and just continue to build my resume with experiences, as I had started my time as a reporter for Friday Football Live at school covering the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. Studying for the games and learning about the matchups was fun, but on the day of the games, I found myself dreading going out to do actual coverage. It seemed like a chore to do anything, and each time I set up my phone to record a standup, it felt like I had to force a smile about the game going on right behind me.

After talking to people close to me, I decided to give NKU’s Counseling Services a try. I figured that it was free, and if nothing else, I could get some words of support that would help me get my head on straight and move forward with things. After a few meetings, I realized this would be something I would need to continue on with for much longer than I thought.

However, these counseling meetings became one of the few things in my life I was enjoying. Every couple of weeks, I would head over to the office and learn more about myself. Slowly, the fog began to clear. The gym became something I could find peace and quiet within, my school days became days I could get a lot of things done and the games I covered were becoming as fun as sports can be.

Someone who had loved watching football and basketball for so much of their life was wanting to watch these sports again. The joy was finding itself back into my life, and I could find myself stringing day after day together.

I then got the amazing news late in the fall of 2023 that I would be interning in the sports department at WXIX FOX 19 with Joe Danneman and Jeremy Rauch in the spring of 2024. My excitement had exploded, as I would be working and learning with two of the best in the business.

I had something to look forward to, and the spring had brought plenty of bright moments. I was doing well in my courses, I was experiencing life-long dreams in my internship and my mental health was finding consistency at a high level.

I was still doing bi-weekly meetings, but I found myself smiling and laughing more while doing them. While I was still avoiding the deep end, I was able to keep myself afloat due to the lessons from these meetings. Before I knew it, I had finished the internship and was looking for the next opportunity I could jump on.

Applications opened up for The Northerner, and the position of Co-Sports Editor was yelling at me to put my name in the entry. I quickly applied and could only wait.

It didn’t take too much time before I had a meeting with Emily Sisk, Hailey Roden and the former Editor-in-Chief Braden White. To say I was nervous was an understatement, as I was wanting to sell myself while also hoping I could show my socialness in a short meeting with them.

A couple of weeks later, I got the email that I had been hired to fill the position with someone I had grown so close with throughout college, Alex Perez.

Fast forward to this fall semester, and I found myself in one of the best mental spots I could be in. Despite being incredibly busy with classes and The Northerner, I couldn’t have been happier. I found myself talking to more of my co-workers and enjoying my time with them.

Whether it was travelling to a game with Alex, Jakob Staley and Jameson Howard or sitting in the newsroom after a late night game shooting on the Mountain Dew mini hoop probably missing all but two shots, I was making lifelong friendships and making some of the best memories possible.

When I think about this semester, the biggest game memory I have was after the volleyball team celebrated senior day. Alex and I had worked this game, taking notes of what would be a very entertaining game, and cracking jokes the whole match and having our eardrums blown out by the band behind us. Despite the game being earlier in the afternoon, we didn’t leave the newsroom until probably seven o’clock.

As I said before, we were taking all kinds of trick shots on the mini hoop even though we couldn’t make a point blank shot, but sitting and talking with someone who has grown to be one of my best friends was amazing.

As I type this, I realize that the power of the mini hoop is unmatched. One of the most fun nights was when, as a group, The Northerner went to the “Anything Goes” performance. It was an extremely snowy day filled with lots of projects, so later in the day I found myself sitting in the newsroom doing homework with Hailey Roden and Alex. After about two hours of Alex and I laughing at dumb jokes, Hailey came over to our desks and we found ourselves shooting on the mini hoop, playing get to know you games and talking about the performance we were going to see. Jokes about everything you could imagine flew through the room, but before long, we were at the performance.

Joking around and enjoying what was an amazing play made that night so memorable and really made me realize how sad I was that I had not tried to be open to friends sooner. I found the last two months of my final semester to be some of the most fun months of my life.

I cannot sit here and talk enough about how much I enjoyed everyone in this special group. So many personalities, but so many friendships were made. While this is my only semester in this group, I think this group is the most talented group NKU has seen.

Alex- While you have been the most rude, snarky person I have met in my life, I guess I will try to say something kind to you. You have been the most consistent friend I have had throughout college. I can’t ever think of a time that I did not have a great time being around you. Whether it is sitting in class talking about something completely unrelated or spending multiple hours in the newsroom having you show me music that I have never listened to in my life calling me “nephew,” you have become one of the most influential people in my life and someone who never fails to make me life. You have a very bright future, and I guess you know ball.

Emily and Hailey- TRULY two of the most talented people I have ever met. I think if you both had time, you would create the best newscast anyone has ever seen. While I have not always spent a ton of time with you both, my time with each of you has been so educating. I have learned so much about what hard work is from seeing what all you do and cannot wait to see the amazing things you both do in the future. I think many people should get to meet you both because even with your busy schedules, you both are always the first people to pick someone up and dust them off. Having your editor-in-chief and managing editor compliment your work and give you flowers as much as anyone else is something that has only made this work environment better than anyone can ask for.

My final note to all of you is this:

While the time is coming to an end and so many other doors are opening, you will always have the key to this door of your life.

I can only pray I can stay in contact with each of you because you are all so kind-hearted and joyous.