Two years ago, when I sent that email inquiring about some advertising position at The Daily Orange, I had no idea the ride it would take me on. For an organization and role I more or less stumbled into, this goodbye has been bittersweet.

While I look forward to moving on and applying all that my time at The Daily Orange has taught me to even bigger opportunities, a small part of me will weirdly miss all the hours spent playing email tag, attempting to explain CPM, updating my beloved spreadsheet, and constantly getting logged out of all DO social media accounts. This job kept me on my toes and helped me grow in ways I never would’ve imagined.

But anyways, now onto some much needed shoutouts.

Mark Nash: I’m honestly not sure where to start with you. I guess, in an attempt to, it goes without saying that I wouldn’t have been able to do my job without The D.O.’s “swiss army knife.” Two 20 something-year-olds managed to do what seemed impossible time and time again, and we certainly have some stories to tell because of it. While I stand by the fact that no reliable system of organization can occur entirely within one’s head, every Type A needs their Type B, and (when it comes to The D.O.) you were mine. My anxiety certainly won’t miss all your random, “we have a problem” phone calls/texts, but I will miss all the moments we spent trying to laugh off every crisis we found ourselves wrapped up in. To say it’s been a crazy ride would be an understatement, but we made it out alive, and I also now know who to call next time trying to post an ad gives my computer four different viruses. To the man who could never be known as just Mark, I not only wish you the best but know you’ll achieve it. Now go graduate again, you overachiever, you.

Chris Ern: Your eagerness to learn and excitement for what’s to come leaves me confident that the ad team is in great hands with you next semester. I knew I was gonna like you the second you complimented my spreadsheet, so I guess it’s fitting that you’ll be making your very own soon enough. I’ll still be around if you need a question answered or email proofread but also know, without a doubt, you’ve got this.

Davis Hood: I will never forget the night you walked up to our booth at Orange Blast, told us your major and had Mark give me that look that said “this kid is our new IT Manager.” I never got to know you that personally, but our limited interactions always warmed my heart, and I definitely appreciated the words of encouragement I got when struggling with my code. Oh, and, no, I don’t need anything, but thank you for always asking.

Anish, Kyle, and Sophie: Despite having over a year of work under my belt, I was nervous going into this semester. It seemed like curveballs were constantly being thrown our way, yet we somehow managed to not totally strike out. I genuinely don’t know where my sanity would be without the management dream team that was the three of you. Thank you for always making me feel welcome and being willing to explain what exactly editorial does way too many times. We shared some laughs and I got to know three pretty cool people at least a little bit, which managed to make some of the craziness worth it. And to Anish, specifically, I wish you (and your sleep schedule) the best of luck continuing as EIC next semester.

The Rest of the Ad Team: I appreciate all of you always entertaining my super original icebreakers and bearing with the chaos that sometimes followed the Mark Nash and Chloe Powell leadership duo. I have always believed in each and every one of you and hope you’ll come to appreciate your time with The D.O. as much as I have.

What I’m really trying to say is thank you. Thank you to everyone I got the chance to know in my two years here. Thank you to everyone who motivated me to be the best Ad Manager I could be. Thank you to those I never interacted with but still played a vital role in making this paper what it is. And thank you to everything that is The Daily Orange.

There’s probably a million more things I should say and/or plenty of better ways to say the ones I did, but I was never getting paid to be a journalist. I just sold ads.

Published on December 7, 2023 at 6:16 am