I didn’t know I was going to UB until the last day you could possibly register.
I got waitlisted or shut out of all of my dream schools and decided SUNY was the right route for me.
I applied to Buffalo in early April and received my acceptance letter on the last day of that same month. I decided the next day – with the help of the best mother and father a child could ask for – that I wanted to attend the University at Buffalo and the rest is history.
I’ve moved four times since I got accepted to UB. From Spaulding, to Main Street to Northrup Place, I went through 10 roommates. John, Daniel, Sherwood, Lomenzo, Mintzer, Spencer, Barfish, Kirsh, Ackerman and Sokol.
My first three years at Buffalo didn’t really mean all that much looking back. It wasn’t until I took a risk and decided to start writing that I felt my time here had any meaning.
Although my time at The Spectrum was quite short, I feel that the skills and values I have learned here will only help launch a successful career for me in the future.
I hope to one day think back to the days I struggled to write a headline or contact a source and laugh.
I hope to one day think back to the days when I would have anxiety because Marlee Tuskes wouldn’t answer my Facebook messages and laugh.
I hope to one day think back to my first and last sex issue and … laugh.
I was at a loss before I found The Spectrum. I had one internship to my name, a couple small jobs, a few years as a camp counselor but no real résumé builder.
Just before last summer, my friend Dani told me I should check it out. She had just finished her first semester as a staff writer and was being moved up to an editor. So I thought why not? I always felt that writing was one of my strong suits.
I thought I would jump right into the sports desk upon my first day in class. I’m a lifelong sports fan so I thought that would be the perfect fit for me, but it wasn’t. Sorry, Jordan Grossman.
After listening to Gabriela Julia and the rest of the senior editors’ desk pitches, I decided I wanted to join the news desk. I felt a sense of pride reporting interesting, inspiring and fun news pieces for the university community.
It felt good to have deadlines and be on a strict schedule even though I didn’t always abide by them.
I want to thank Gabi, Marlee and Ashley Inkumsah for walking me through my first few weeks as a staff writer and helping me get to where I am now.
I want to thank Alyssa for praising one of my first articles when I thought they all were awful. I also want to thank the news desk’s late addition, Hannah, for being such a boss and my friend Sam for giving me a headline for this piece.
To keep with the theme, my time at The Spectrum was short, so I won’t talk your ears off.
I appreciate and am thankful for all that this place has taught me and I will surely keep it with me for years and years to come.
Schneider out.
Evan Schneider is a news desk editor and can be reached at news@ubspectrum.com.
