By Emma Weidmann | Editor-in-Chief
When I write a story, I’m usually working on a tight deadline. I get maybe a day or two from pitch to publication. But this one, my very last byline in The Baylor Lariat, has taken me four years to write.
I remember pretty vividly the day that I walked into the newsroom for the first time. I came 15 minutes early, having grossly over budgeted how long it would take me to walk from my dorm to Castellaw Communications Center. I blame that on the “Gilmore Girls” reboot, which had recently put the fear of editors into me. I was determined to show up armed with plenty of story pitches to avoid being laughed out of the place like Rory Gilmore was when she showed up unprepared for a job interview.
Meeting with my first editor, I didn’t know what to expect, but she showed me what a good editor is and gave me the opportunity to do journalism even though I had no experience. Because of that, I quickly found out what I now tell everyone: there is no other job on campus like The Lariat, no other profession in the world like journalism.
That first meeting was in September of my freshman year — I was still only 17. At 21, I’ve been here almost the entire time I’ve been at Baylor, and every day working as a student-journalist has brought something new, from covering Austin City Limits, riding the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile through Waco, interviewing U.S. senators and representatives, covering a presidential inauguration and just telling the stories of everyday people. That came as a surprise for me, considering I arrived at Baylor fresh off a year of doing nothing and talking to nobody. I can thank COVID-era virtual school for that.
All I can say is, thank God I only spent two weeks at Baylor before I got my foot in the door at The Lariat. I don’t know what else I would have done here to make my college experience half as meaningful.
Speaking of two weeks, that’s about all there is left of my time here. How to sum it up? Baylor and The Lariat have allowed me to discover my passion and start my career all at once — no waiting, no “five years experience required.” But more importantly, through the long nights working on print editions, the early-morning drives to the airport for conventions and every moment between, I have had the privilege of getting to know some of the most caring, intelligent and truly fantastic people at Baylor. Of all the wonderful things about The Lariat that I could go on about — and there are many — the best part is the people.
I owe a great chunk of my success at The Lariat to my colleagues who I get to call friends, people who you’ll find waiting outside the bathroom for you when you needed a second alone on a stressful night, who are down to grab coffee or even chips and queso when the situation gets really dire. Everyone needs that. Journalism is a tough gig — actually, so is college, but these people have made it all so memorable.
This is a time I know I will look back on and miss, and for that, I consider myself lucky.
