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News 36
Detours
KTRM
Editor bids Index farewell
Andrea Hewitt is a senior communication major from Kansas City, Mo.
I had to make a lot of sacrifices to be Editor-in-Chief for the past 28 issues of the Index.
I traded in a booming social life for 30-50 hours in the news center each week. I greatly neglected my roommate, Molly, for the last eight months. I withdrew myself from Beta Omega Beta. And I rarely had an hour of Andrea time between Sunday and Thursday without the interruption of Index business.
But that was all worth it when Blaise, the Index’s Managing Editor, called me Saturday night to tell me we’d won best in the state for the second year in a row.
I’ll try not to make this farewell column extremely sappy, but it does feel like I’m losing something that has been such a large part of me for the last four years.
I can’t say that week after week the paper has run like clockwork. Quite the contrary. We’ve had broken printers/computers, missed deadlines, miscommunications and an emotional breakdown or two. But that hasn’t kept us from putting out the best product we could for you — the readers.
All the turmoil that could never compare to the amazing people I’ve met along the way.
There’s one person in particular I’d like to thank: Blaise ‘Blaiser’ Hart-Schmidt (but never call her Blaiser — trust me). Blaise and I joined the Index during the first weeks of our freshman year and were timid, goofy reporters. Her name is directly below mine in the staff box, but it should be next to it because she does at least as much work as I do each week.
I’ve always idolized her ability to stay calm during any situation, even if I knew she was flipping out inside. I really couldn’t have done any of this without Blaise’s talent, strong work ethic and fearlessness to criticize me.
But it doesn’t just take two people to make the Index run. I’ve been lucky enough to have an incredible editorial board. I came into the position with a fairly young staff and have gotten to watch each of them grow leaps and bounds.
I’ve watched my editors cringe when reporters missed deadline — but those were rare occurrences in the office.
The best thing about this staff is they will do anything to publish the paper. Whether it be waking up at 7 a.m. Thursday after killing the paper only five and a half hours before to do deliveries or just making a run to the store for ice cream to bring up people’s spirits — they go above and beyond their job duties
As my time at Truman seems to be coming to an abrupt halt, I really want you — the readers — to know that we put every spare ounce of energy we have into providing you with the best news in the best way possible. We constantly are thinking about what you want to read or need to know. If you have any questions or concerns — let Kathleen, the incoming EIC, know. We grow through your thoughts. Email her at index.editor@gmail.com or call the office at 785-4449.
Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy getting the Index’s ink on your fingers.
Andrea Hewitt is a senior communication major from Kansas City, Mo.
