I joined The Observer almost without meaning to. I was a spring admit, walking around the student activities fair with current Director of Digital Media Auden Koetters into our first few days at Case Western Reserve University, and I remember seeing the table and thinking it looked interesting. Then, I walked right past it.

It wasn’t until a year later that I ended up joining when I met the former Executive Editor Shivangi Nanda in class. She had a way of recruiting where saying no somehow wasn’t really an option, and, before I knew it, I had agreed to come to production night. She needed copy editors and I figured I’d try it out without thinking too much of it.

That turned into a lot of fun and one of the best ways to meet people I never would have crossed paths with otherwise. I loved being forced to keep up with what was happening on and around campus, and by the end I became an AP style whiz. I remember sitting around the big table in the UMB office with my fellow copy editors at the time, current Executive Editor Darcy Chew and Director of Print Hannah Johnson, poring over every comma and capital letter, fact-checking every name and title. I remember we even caught a completely plagiarized essay in a writing contest we were hosting. Growth really does come in many forms—I am now, for better or worse, that person who will correct your grammar.

For my first two years I was a copy editor, and in my senior year I decided I wanted to try something new. I moved to the design team and started as a layout designer, with my best shot at a graphic or two along the way. In a week that could otherwise blur by, production night became a guaranteed few hours of creating something, and I loved that The Observer gave me that outlet. I loved watching pages come together and seeing designs go from a blank mess of text boxes to something we were proud of. Opinion became my unofficial section, and, every week, I looked forward to seeing the most beautiful graphics from the design team, while also being a menace about last-minute orientation changes. Graphic Designer Anna Trusova has heard that particular ask far too many times (sorry!).

Getting to work under Co-Directors of Design Lucas Yang and Anjali Bhuthpur—a power duo if there ever was one—has been such a privilege. Lucas, with that obscene amount of talent, and Anjali with that natural magic eye for design. I got lucky, working under some of my favorite people, who also happen to be incredible bosses. Nithya joining this past year made production nights even better, as we got lost in layouts together. I’m going to miss working alongside her and my fellow layout designers Reva, Kiera, Shareen and Lizzy, and the truly gifted graphic designers Jana, Anna and Kristina. I’ll miss getting Anjali to fix my page numbers for what probably felt like the millionth time, and even Director of Business Operations Tyler Vu periodically hovering over my shoulder to inform me, unprompted, that my half-finished page looks bad.

What am I supposed to do on Wednesday nights now?

The Observer has been a kind of constant over these past years at CWRU. I’m so grateful for the people, the free dinners, the late nights and everything in between. When I think back to the girl who walked past that table at the Activities Fair, I’m so glad she found her way back.

See you next Wednesday, Observer.

Thanks for everything.