Emma Caroline Brown
Editor
This month, The Spectator celebrates its 120 th year, and during my almost four years of being on staff, I can say I have been changed by my time with The Spectator.
In high school, I was constantly told I was too shy and not very outgoing. But when I came to Mississippi University for Women and started working on The Spectator, I was able to get out of my comfort zone and become an outgoing person.
Starting out as a reporter was scary for me at first since I was not a very talkative person. Interviewing sources seemed like a very hard task to accomplish, especially since I did not know or had never met most of the people I interviewed.
However, meeting and talking with new people created opportunities for me to improve my conversational skills and begin making new connections on campus and in the community.
I emailed and messaged people I had never met to schedule interviews, talked with people I would have never met if not for The Spectator, and I gained new skills that have forever changed how I communicate.
I now have more confidence to begin conversations and carry them out like I have met the person many times before, even though I might have never even seen them in person. My small talk has fleshed out, I know how to connect with others and I can always take away new things from these conversations.
Sometimes, I still cannot believe that I have learned how to talk so well with people I do not know, especially after being such a timid person before college. I still feel nervous when meeting someone for the first time and interviewing them, but that feeling completely melts away once the ball gets rolling and the conversation is in full swing.
When I became editor for The Spectator, I took on more responsibilities and became a full-fledged representative for the newspaper. Carrying 120 years of tradition can be intimidating, but by keeping a glass-half-full attitude and making The Spectator fun for our staff, being the editor has been more exciting than I could have imagined.
I have always been a very plan-ahead type of person but being a reporter and now the editor of The Spectator has made me the most organized I have ever been. A desk calendar, colored highlighters, post-it notes, phone reminders, scheduled emails and the notes app have become my greatest allies.
Most importantly, though, this time has allowed me to meet people and make friends I never would have met without The Spectator. Through attending on-campus and community events, heading up tabling events and reaching out for interviews for stories, I have made connections and friends of all different walks.
These connections have only further shown me how unexplored Columbus can be and how impactful The W has been to Columbus and its residents. Without these various perspectives, my appreciation for Columbus may not have been as great, but now I can see how much potential our city and campus truly have.
I wonder if 120 years ago, our founders thought about the impact The Spectator has had and continues to have on students. I hope The Spectator is around for 120 more years, and I hope the organization has as great an impact on future students as it has had on me.