What a rush!

The neverending ride has come to a halt. Today, the hard work, dedication and sacrifice of working on the newspaper ends; this is the last edition.

I’m proud of the staff because it gave readers the best coverage possible with well-written stories that directly and indirectly affected students and faculty.

This magical semester was rewarded in Sacramento with the newspaper and magazine earning the General Excellence Award, and continues tonight, when the Los Angeles Times will honor the Union at its Student Journalism Awards reception.

Receiving the awards is satisfying; however, it cannot compare to the experiences and maturity that the staff developed throughout the semester.

It took a while learning to deal and to adjust to all the unique personalities, but we managed. That is why this semester will always have a special place in my heart. I’m proud of the entire staff. In particular, I am proud of the editors who made the production of the newspaper happen.

I respect the spring ’05 staff. It worked hard and remained committed to creating an excellent newspaper.

I would like to thank college president Dr. Thomas Fallo. With his help, 15 of us were given the opportunity to attend the Journalism Association of Community Colleges state conference in Sacramento.

Sacramento is where many of us formed a special bond. This is where many of us became more of a team. This is where many of us became friends. Most members on staff who attended the conference exceeded their own expectations, which is the greatest benefit of all.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to have been this semester’s editor in chief. I learned a lot about my personality with the help of the editors and advisers. I learned how to manage both others and myself, and I also figured out what some do not learn until later in life: how to work with people. To think that I almost passed this experience by.

If it weren’t for the knowledge, support and help of my girlfriend, former editor in chief Sarrah Harris, I don’t think I could have done this.

Lastly, I would like to thank two special people, my advisers Jolene Combs and Lori Medigovich, for their support and kind words. If you’re interested in learning about journalism there is no one better to learn from than these two women.

The newsroom, which has become a second home to many of us, will be missed.The thrill of producing the newspaper each Wednesday afternoon will be missed. All the deadlines, anticipation and frustration that accompanied each issue will be missed.

Indeed, it was a rush.