There is no proper way to start this letter other than via a series of thank you’s. Thank you to Joe Boucher, for being a wonderful and supportive boss, for sitting through so many meetings, and for your wise advice. Thank you to Kate Clatterbuck and Liz Werner for sitting through my tirades during manager meetings and for always being ready and willing to offer an ear. Thank you to my editors and staff writers for quality reporting, devotion to the paper, and never ending improvements in all that you do. Thank you to every professor and staff member who has supported me in my Brackety-Ack adventures, in the classroom, in my research, and in my extracurriculars. Thank you to the administration, specifically President Shushok, Dean Wolfe, and Rita Farlow. Not every college is willing to let student journalists write about the things I wrote about, and I appreciate that Roanoke College is an institution which supports student speech and transparency. Lastly, thank you to my friends who have been endlessly supportive in every aspect of my life, Brackety-Ack and beyond.
The Brackety-Ack is an integral part of Roanoke College’s history and future. It is a place for student, faculty, staff, and administrative voices to be heard when the times call for such things. I am incredibly proud to have been at the helm of a Roanoke College legacy, and I am more proud to have done it justice. I know that the Brackety-Ack will continue to be a voice for all on campus, and I cannot wait to watch it grow.
Typically, these letters contain some advice, so here is my attempt. Roanoke College offers a plethora of opportunities; but perhaps the most important thing this college provides is the space and support to truly find yourself—to explore, evolve, and further define who you are as a human being. I’ve experienced countless opportunities here, many leading to success, and many to failure. Looking back though, it’s not the outcome that matters, but the growth that came from each of those moments. What I’m most proud of from my time at Roanoke is not a single accomplishment, but the person I’ve become through it all. I get to leave Roanoke knowing I’m a much better human being now than when I arrived.
I cannot express how grateful I am to have served as Editor-in-Chief this last year. It has been an absolute honor. The support I have received from professors, alumni, students, administrators, staff, and my friends has been overwhelming. I am so humbled, and I am so thankful. This paper means so much to me, and I am incredibly excited to watch its future unfold.
Zack, I have the utmost confidence in your ability to succeed, and I am so excited to see what you do with the Brackety-Ack. You are going to be a wonderful Editor-in-Chief.
For the last time,
Mikaela Gantz
Editor-in-Chief
