By Shlomie Katash
After four incredible semesters at The Brooklyn College Vanguard, and two as its News Editor, this will officially be my final issue. Watching The Vanguard flourish over the past year and a half has been an immense privilege. I have learned so much here–about writing, leadership, teamwork, and more–and for that I will always be grateful to this paper and everyone I have met along the way. I cannot wait to see this community continue to thrive!
I fondly remember the first story I wrote for The Vanguard. I remember submitting it, feeling very proud of the work I had done–until I saw the comments a little while later. Readers, I got butchered. I stared at the page in horror. The comments, the suggestions, the deletions–I couldn’t even see what I originally wrote!
Turns out, that was probably the best thing that could have happened to me. The editor-in-chief at the time, Gabriela Flores, asked me to come into the Roosevelt office to…talk. I was a little nervous. But once I got there, my entire perspective on journalism changed. There, Gabriela taught me how to actually write like a journalist. I had never realized it before but the structure, the rhythm, of a journalistic article is completely unique–it makes sense when you think about it!
My article did not make it in the end, but I am forever grateful for the lesson Gabriela gave me. She allowed me and gave me the tools to come back better, to continue growing as a writer, and to eventually become News Editor, one of my absolute favorite jobs I have ever had.
For whatever reason, I am a news freak. I love reading stories about the latest political and social developments in our world, and I love writing about them. The chance to do that every week, to delve into a new topic and attempt to fully understand and communicate it, and to learn and to help others learn about our community has been priceless.
I will carry the skills I honed here for the rest of my life, but none of them compare to the opportunity to work in a team and forge a bond with my fellow editors, most notably Serin Sarsour, Kate Dempsey, and Paulina Gajewski, and all the writers. Thank you all and thank you to The Vanguard.
To the readers, thank you for taking an interest. I’ve accidentally managed to catch a few people reading my articles over the years, and I can only hope they, and anyone else who has read any article of ours, have enjoyed and learned something from it. I have always tried to be as thorough and accurate as possible, and I hope that comes across. Thankfully for you all, though, the way those goals transform into a tendency to over explain each detail has been curbed by my editors! They have truly made me a better writer, and I hope you continue to enjoy the pieces they put out.
Working at The Vanguard has been one of the most gratifying and fun experiences of my professional life thus far, and I hate to say goodbye. All good things must come to an end, but I know the greatness of this paper will continue into next semester and long beyond! I am excited to watch it from afar. So, one last time: thank you to all the staff who make this possible, thank you to my coworkers who gave me the chance, and thank you to the Brooklyn College community for making a place I am proud to call home!