I joined The UCSD Guardian my freshman year because I wanted to find a place to make some friends on campus. I was intimidated by the size of UC San Diego and figured that joining the newspaper was a surefire way to learn more about my new surroundings, write, and meet people I could connect with. Now, I can safely say that joining this paper was the best decision my eighteen-year-old self ever made. 

I’m grateful for the sense of community The UCSD Guardian has provided me these past four years. It’s no secret that UCSD is a STEM-focused campus. Due to this, I anticipated being a writing major would inherently place me in my own private, social sphere along with the rest of the humanities students. And to a certain extent, this was true for my first couple quarters of college — beyond my freshman dorm members, the only other people I hung out with were fellow classmates from my literature classes. 

Yet the longer I wrote with The UCSD Guardian, the more I realized our campus is full of writers and creatives, even if the university hasn’t labelled them as such. The range in majors, backgrounds, and talents among our staff and editors continues to amaze me. I wouldn’t have met half the friends I made in college if it weren’t for this paper. This truly is a group of individuals who are brought together sheerly by their common interest in student journalism. 

So, before I log out of WordPress one last time, I want to thank and recognize my fellow graduating editors — Rani, Jacob, Geena, Lara, Alex, Annika, Anthony, Alexa, and Chloe. I’m so grateful for your dedication and to have known you. I can’t imagine how this past year would have worked without you, and wish you all the best as you figure out life post-UCSD.

As for The UCSD Guardian 2019-2020 staff as a whole, I’m so proud of you. We managed to still put out 30 weeks worth of papers amidst a global pandemic, Zoom classes, and everything else 2020 threw at us. It has been an honor to work with each and every one of you. 

And for the staff members who will be continuing into the 2020-2021 academic year — you all don’t need me to tell you how challenging this upcoming year will be. But I know that there’s no better team to handle it. Jahfreen and Jack, you’re going to be an amazing editor in chief and managing editor duo.

Congratulations, everyone! 

Art by Angela Liang for the UCSD Guardian.