MARGARET BOYLAN
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel as if I’m unprepared to be a senior.
Yeah, I’m jumping the gun, the semester isn’t over quite yet. But as we’re wrapping up, and I’m getting ready to go through finals week and say goodbye to friends, I’m realizing that I won’t see them again until we begin our senior year.
That’s such a strange concept. I feel as if I just showed up on campus, a starry-eyed freshman. I still vividly remember my first classes, the first time I met some of my closest friends, and countless other memories I made throughout that first year. And now, after almost three years at the school, I’m finding myself nearing the end of my time in this small corner of Ohio.
One of the many changes to come senior year is my role on the Troubadour editorial staff. I will no longer be assistant editor, but will be taking the place as editor-in-chief of the Troubadour newspaper.
When I say I feel unprepared, I think that’s what I’m talking about. I can easily think that I am not good enough, or that I don’t possess enough of the leadership qualities necessary for the role of editor-in-chief. But I realize that no matter how unprepared I feel to take on this role, I have to remind myself I was picked for the job because someone recognized that I had the skill to do it.
But I also recognize there are certain things required for a leadership role aside from skill. It’s also a recognition of the team behind me, and a remembrance of where I started.
The talent and experience I have acquired from the Troubadour did not happen overnight, I’m not that awesome. It came first from that editorial staff in spring 2015, when I began working as a staff writer for the Troubadour. If they had not been there when I needed help, I would not be the writer I am today. And it was through the persistence of the 2015 assistant editor, Lauren Ramseyer, and the 2016 assistant editor, Hannah Crites, who both pushed me to become a better writer, that I recognized the need for my continuous striving towards perfection.
And then, even after my short time on the editorial staff of this academic year, I have found the vast importance of teamwork. I have seen what happens when a team of unique individuals come together to create something that we are giving to the world. And it’s an incredible thing. The love and passion I have seen in some of the staff members of the Troubadour is what pushes this staff to put out a newspaper six times throughout the semester.
I feel like there are so many things I still have to learn. I still feel so new to the editorial staff, but at the same time, I recognize my willingness to learn as a chance to grow deeper.
To my 2017-2018 editorial team: Allegra, John, Ulises, Molly, Jacque, Holly, Elisha, Jacob, Molly and Liam, I could not be more excited to work with you guys. Through the few weeks we have already gotten to work with each other, I am beginning to recognize the talent and uniqueness each one of you bring to the table that together makes up the best staff I could ask for.
Hannah, you have been the most incredible editor-in-chief. I know I speak on behalf of the entire editorial staff when I say thank you so much for being there when we all didn’t know what we were doing at the beginning of the semester. None of us would know the Troubadour newspaper so well if you hadn’t been there to guide us. And on a personal note, thank you for being so supportive—for being there to answer my thousands of questions that you never thought were too small to answer. Thank you for your insight and your guidance, especially as I try to fill the place you have left for me as the next editor-in-chief.
Yes, I might feel a little unprepared, but if the last three years at Franciscan and my time with the Troubadour has taught me anything it is this: that I can draw from the experience I have gained through my time here, the guidance I have received from my predecessors, and the support from the team behind me to be the best editor-in-chief for the 2017-2018 editorial staff.