Staff members from different sections of The Miami Student wrote columns about what the publication means to them.
I tell this story often, but I joined The Miami Student by accident. When I came to Miami University, I wanted to study international relations and be the next secretary of state (though maybe this was an optimistic goal for a first-year college student).
What I didn’t account for was the copious amounts of free time that come with being a first-year student. What I anticipated to feel like freedom and choice just felt like stifling loneliness. I endearingly refer to this transition as the “freshman scaries,” though to be totally frank, nothing was endearing about this time at all.
I had this crazy mindset where I would get through my day by “working toward” calls to my mom. My first call of the day was when I finished all my classes; This meant that right after my Intro to Journalism course on Mondays and Wednesdays, I got to talk to my mom. Most of the time, I was crying about how this place sucked, and I wanted to go home.
One time, I had to send a package home to Minnesota. I called my mom hysterical because I was jealous of an inanimate object (I wish I was kidding). It got to go home, and I had to stay at this stupid college in Ohio.
I can now admit I was being a little dramatic.
All of this to be said, I called my mom a lot. On one of these calls, as I left that journalism class, I told her how bored and lonely I was. I mentioned that I really liked the class, and the professor spoke about The Miami Student. My mom encouraged me to join. Her theory — and she was right — was that I was struggling so much because I was bored and needed something to fill my time.
So, I sent The Student folks an email. Campus and Community Editor Sean Scott was the first person to answer, and while I don’t remember what he said, he was incredibly enthusiastic. It made me say, “Fine … I guess I will go.”
During one of my first meetings, I sat next to Olivia Patel. We chatted about our fall break plans and discovered that we were both going to Minnesota. On the same flight. We were randomly assigned seats next to each other on the way back to Ohio. We compared tickets at the meeting, and made a plan to meet up at the airport later that week.
On that trip, Olivia and I chatted about our lives, boy problems and the harsh adjustment to college. We laughed a lot. We even joked about eventually one day becoming editor-in-chief and managing editor. It made the plane ride I had been dreading for months a fond memory.
Oh, and it also gave Olivia a fear of my travel habits (I’m telling you, the best way to do it is get to the airport 30 minutes before your flight boards).
Let’s fast forward four years. Livi and I ended up as editor-in-chief and managing editor, just like we said we would. And though we didn’t know this at the time — neither of us is great at math — we would be serving during The Student’s bicentennial year. Who woulda thought?
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This is my long-winded way of saying that while I never intended to join The Student, it became my life. It got me through the “freshman scaries.” In some ways, it’s the reason I didn’t transfer to a school closer to home.
When I think about what The Student means to me, I think about having somewhere to go where I have a purpose. The Student filled a hole that I didn’t even know existed. It was my first home at Miami, and for that I will forever be grateful.
Anna Reier is a senior double majoring in diplomacy and global politics and journalism with a minor in international business. She currently serves as the managing editor at The Student. She loves all things journalism, particularly editorial pieces focused on geopolitical relations.
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