By A.S. Kinsman

It’s been an amazing year in the world of journalism for me. Encouraged by Chuck Ott, the Faculty Adviser for The Beacon, I decided to take up the proverbial pen and dip my quill into the inkwell of journalism. As a writer of primarily fictional stories, I had never really tried my hand at writing newsworthy articles. At first, my work was choppy, sloppy, and amateur. It was a process that was learned by trial and error. Sometimes I look back on my first articles and cringe. Most of them were not as good as they could have been. Others shock me with how well written they were. I noticed that as my time wore on with being on the roster of The Beacon section editors, my writing improved. Experience rang true. It gave me the words to write with and the flow that only seasoned writers can have.

Looking back, I’d say that I’d written close to 30 articles in my service of The Beacon. That’s roughly 15,000 words that I’ve written for the students and faculty of SMCC to read. It’s a huge number, but something I find myself very proud of. I’ve invested many hours of my time for this pro-bono work, but the payoff has been huge in the way that I’ve learned how to write better and become a respected, somewhat accomplished journalist.

Even as I write this, I find it very hard to believe this will be my last entry into The Beacon. I find it impossible to think that after slaving away on my laptop for hours at a time, researching and composing articles, week after week, month after month, this will be the final foray. It will be my last goodbye to SMCC’s literary world. Something about this hurts.

I know I ruffled a lot of feathers with some of my work. And I’m proud of that. What kind of writer would I be if I didn’t practice my freedom of speech and press and catch the attention of my readers? What kind of writer would I be if I didn’t make people think twice about what they believe in? I’ll never regret the articles I’ve written or what I’ve written them about. I am pleased that so many people pay attention to what they are consuming in the media and have something to say about. I can only hope that some of you will choose to submit your own work to The Beacon or even join the team of writers yourself. It is a rewarding experience that you will have a hard time replacing.

Thank you again to Chuck Ott for giving me this opportunity to grow and learn. Thank you for encouraging me to keep writing, even when the creative juices didn’t flow, even when I wanted to just throw in the towel at times. And thank you, readers, for reading what I’ve written and for responding.

Enjoy!