Spencer Thomas | editor-in-chief

The first weekend of college, I said hello to an editor for The Duquesne Duke. The first week I was on campus, I wrote my very first story. Now, four years and 124 articles later, I have to say goodbye.

I can’t wrap my head around how much this paper and school have changed me. Recalling my own memories made before I started here feels like I’m interacting with a whole other person. Every experience in the newsroom taught me something.

It feels like I spent 18 years looking for a community to love that embraced me back. Locker rooms, classrooms and dormitories where I expected those moments never delivered. I came to realize that the newsroom was that place. It was a world where I knew that what I contributed was important, and that I was good at it.

I wasn’t just waiting on the outskirts of the action, or a cog in a process that didn’t need me. I actually had something I owed to people. Whether that was my teammates on the staff, or the readers on campus, I had no choice but to try my hardest. More often than not, I succeeded, and it gave me a rush of confidence I’d never experienced before.

I had an active role in a bustling universe of professors, colleagues, sources, readers and friends. I loved all of it. I didn’t take a single second for granted.

Life is about finding those moments. I’m so grateful I had them here.

The first person I really got to know through The Duke was Luke Henne, who wound up being my predecessor as the sports section editor, editor-in-chief and even at my writing internship with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He taught me the ropes, and everything I know now about sports media comes from a foundation he built. That means a lot to me, but since then we’ve spent over 2,000 miles on highways together going to incredibly forgettable baseball and basketball games, and that means a lot more. Riffing about minor league schedules and random athletes from the 2010s turned him from a mentor to a best friend. Thanks to him and The Duke for that.

Freshman year, I became friends with another staff writer, Megan Trotter. I remember reading her first story with her and joking about how in a few years we’d be on the editorial staff together. We were 100% correct. I was lucky enough to have her by my side as a colleague and friend for two years of Wednesday nights trying to get an issue published by our 2 a.m. deadline. Friends in this industry mean a whole lot, so I’m lucky to have one like Megan as we venture into it together.

Those are just some of the lifelong friends I shared the newsroom with. Every member of the staff, who I wish I could fit in here, as well as the professors I learned from mean the absolute world to me. It’s amazing to know that the department is going to continue giving others the amazing experience I had. I also look forward to the continued work of Mike O’Grady, a friend and protégée I know will keep the sports section in good hands.

Our advisor Paula Ward deserves the utmost credit for tolerating my nonsense the last three years. She advocated for us, joked around with us and showed us how the best journalists in the world carry themselves.

My favorite parts of journalism are the wacky moments it puts me in. Situations where I get to just sit back and make the most of it, while thinking about the stories I’ll be telling my roommates when I get back.

Getting to do this ridiculous job in college has led me to so many situations where all I’m able to do is smile and write. I have seen two presidents speak, lost a pound of sweat in the sauna with an MMA fighter and sat front row at a murder trial. After each one of these experiences, I have the privilege of explaining them to the reader. I want to share the truth, as well as my genuine awe of the incredible, complicated and ridiculous world we are lucky enough to wake up to every single day.

Even as head of the whole paper, I’m still a sportswriter at heart. I earned the trust to represent The Duke in places I could have only dreamed of, like Rupp Arena, Milan Puskar Stadium and the Peterson Events Center. The pinnacle of the journey was my week in Nebraska, covering our men’s basketball team’s historic run into March Madness. I’m not sure if there will ever be another experience that will captivate me as much personally and professionally as that one did. I spent the early part of that week working day and night to set up that Thursday’s issue, before departing for Omaha for what turned out to be Duquesne’s first tournament win since 1969.

I remember TNT’s Avery Johnson Sr., my favorite basketball coach growing up, asking me for the Wi-Fi password as I worked courtside at the biggest sports events in the world. It was a quick way to grow up as a reporter.

I put my fandom aside to do my duties as a reporter, but I remember my sweaty hands clunking around the keyboard as I told the story of Duquesne’s biggest moment in half a century. It was such an incredible experience because I knew how much the moment meant to the Duquesne community because I was a part of it. That experience was everything I love about sports and writing. I’ll be chasing that feeling my entire career. Thanks to The Duke for that.