It’s been quite a run.

This is my 112th and final Wayne Stater publication. That is every issue from my first week on campus as a freshman to right now, staring down graduation in the face. I’ve dedicated everything I have to getting better at journalism and giving 110 percent to putting out the best newspaper possible.

Over my time, I’ve covered thousands of events and worked with just as many students and faculty. I witnessed and reported on the tragic tornado in 2013. I covered multiple postseason runs by WSC sports teams. And every event I reported on, I learned something new or tried something different to get better.

I have so many people I want and need to thank for helping me become the journalist and person I am today. First off, my four mentors. Max McElwain, Michael Marek and Maureen Carrigg, the three media professors here on the fourth floor who helped me with so much. Max helped me with not only sports writing, but investigative tactics as well. Maureen taught me how to shoot and edit a video, something I thought I’d never do. Michael showed me how to use my voice on the radio as well as improved my photography skills.

There’s also Michael Carnes, Managing Editor of The Wayne Herald. I did my internship with Mike. When the tornado happened, I soaked up everything he said like a sponge. I did everything he told me to do. He asked me to show up at 9 a.m., the next morning, I showed up at 7 a.m. I needed to learn; I wanted to learn.

I also need to thank everyone in the athletic department, past and current. All of the head coaches have been so cooperative and never treated me any different as a reporter just because I was a student. I was treated as a regular journalist, and I thank all of them for that.

This is it, my final sentence in The Wayne Stater.

Get Buckets.

Richard Rhoden for The Wayne Stater