For someone who is rarely speechless, I have been at a loss of words over the past month or so. It’s been more about taking in the moments, checking off the list of “lasts” as my college career comes to a close.
Walking around campus, covering Sacred Heart sports for the final times, and so many little moments have had me taking some extra time to think just how far I came in just four short years.
Arriving on campus back in August of 2017, I was wide-eyed and ready to start chasing my dream of having a career in sports media. I knew what I wanted to do and how to get there. All that separated me from that was time. Now, I would do so much to get just a few extra moments to look around and spend time with the people who have gone through this ride with me.
I would be remiss not to include the elephant in the room (or world) and say I accomplished many things while being trapped inside my off-campus house due to a pandemic. But it doesn’t matter how it was done, or the toll it took, I did it.
“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” – John Wooden.
This school has done so much for me personally, professionally and spiritually. I owe this school so damn much for the person Sacred Heart has molded me into. There are too many people to thank that I could not fit them all in here, but here are a few:
Thank you to my mom and dad along with my two sisters for the constant love, support, and occasional joking roast to keep me humble. My success is every bit yours as well.
Thank you to the coaches and players who I have had the privilege of meeting and building relationships with over the years at Sacred Heart. From Anthony Latina and Jess Mannetti giving me their time on and off the court, to Mark Nofri following an NEC title. Treating me like the professional I wanted to be means more than words can describe.
Thank you to the various members of athletic communications who have had to deal with me the past four years: Michael Smoose, Aaron Gaberman, Chris O’Connor, Tyrell Walden-Martin, and Mike Haase, I can’t thank you enough for the countless interviews, Zoom meetings, and everything in between to help me grow as a reporter.
Thank you to Professor Kabak, who challenged me to grow from just a sports reporter my sophomore and junior years to leading the campus newspaper in my senior year. Your trust in me to challenge myself has made me more than ready to tackle what lies ahead in my journalism career.
Thank you to the plethora of people who I have had the privilege of working with at the newspaper over my three years. Each of you holds a special place in my heart, and I will never forget any of you.
Lastly, thank you to the people who have read, watched, or listened to my work over the past four years. I hope I made what I did worth noticing, and I hope I left my mark on how sports reporting is done at Sacred Heart for years to come.
In the song “Stole The Show” by Parson James, he sings, “Wave out to the crowd, and take our final bow. It’s our time to go, but at least we stole the show.” This is my final bow with the Spectrum newspaper, and with Sacred Heart. But if I have anything to say about it, this is only the beginning of what have been the greatest years of my life.
