Editorial: Editor-in-chief Jenna Signing Off

So here I am: worrying about my Student Research Day presentation, along with worrying about countless other assignments, when I should be reflecting on the fact that this will be the last editorial I write for the Wilson Billboard (as an Editor and Undergraduate, anyway).

The time has flown by. I’ve always hated how people overuse that phrase, but there are no other words to describe it as perfectly as those words do. I blinked and it is the last few weeks of senior year. I reflect on events that happened two years ago that seem like yesterday.

For the past four years I have been with Billboard. That is my longest club dedication in all of my schooling history. In high school, I was not as outgoing and so I didn’t really do much. In my four years here, I have participated with other clubs, but none have seen the dedication that I have given Billboard. A lot of my time and effort has been put into this club, not only to make sure my work has reached its fullest potential, but for the past two years, double-checking that others work has as well.

Look, I’m not going to rant about how Billboard deserves more credit. I still believe it does, but there is a time and place for that and I feel like I have already had my say on it indirectly with some of my other editorials. I’m going to make this last editorial positive, and hopeful.

Kirsten Bilger ’18 is taking my place. She has had experience all of this year as well as last year working with the Billboard as well as with our literary magazine, Bottom Shelf Review (BSR), so I believe she is up to the task. She is also an English major with a focus in creative writing, so her taking over next year will give her the job that will bring it all together: a management position, not only for Billboard, but for BSR as well.

I’ll be honest and say I never thought I would be here. Before I started college, making it all the way through was very difficult to picture. High school, I could see the ending, but college was more obscure, mainly because I had a hard time finding people in my family that I could relate to and ask about the experience. My aunt went to Wilson, and she’s the one who introduced me to the thought of going here, but without her, there wasn’t anyone I could relate to when looking at college.

Now, these four years have gone by and I have to say goodbye. I may attend graduate school some point down the line, but at the moment the goal is to get out there. See what life is like for me outside of school. Apparently it sucks according to most, but having been in school for a great portion of my life, I have yet to experience it.

So here’s my final editorial. I am sad to leave Billboard behind, but at the same time, I’m ready to be finished with my undergraduate academics and move forward. It is time I toss the keys to Kirsten, who will also buddy with our Graphic Design Editor Fran, to continue on with the Billboard legacy.