Journalism has had such an impact on me that it's immeasurable.  It's watched me conquer the good days and been there for me when I have bad hair days.  I walked into Grandview High School for the first time without direction, and now I leave it after four years, taking with me lessons to build a better tomorrow.  I've only ever wanted to give back to the community that has watched me grow and given me momentous support throughout the past four years.  Throughout this portfolio, I hope that you've seen even just a sliver of the impact I've tried to make on everyone that I cross paths with.  I've told the stories of my school, and I'm beyond grateful to be able to share mine.  I look back at what I've done, and I'm glad I didn't waste a single second.

There have been so many people who have offered their support to me, and I am so grateful for every one of them.  From my parents who drove me to every event when I couldn't, to Emma and Signe who were my friends and instantly connected me to something larger than any one of us, to Mr. Roberts, who became my trusted adult and who I watched grow as an adviser alongside my growth as a journalist, to Devin who I clicked with like no other broadcaster, to every one of the people on staff across all four years whose names I still remember and I still say hi to in the hallways; they've all helped me become the person I am today.

The backbreaking hours that I've committed to journalism have all become worth it.  Days where I lose track of time just working away, and other days where it seems like the minutes can't go by fast enough.  Journalism and storytelling have brought me closer to those minutes.  I've become thankful for everything that happens around me, observing as I look for my next story.   There are days where I'll work nine hours straight without realizing it, and others where it might be a fleeting thought, but underneath it all, journalism has changed my outlook on the world and allowed me to see something new in every situation. 

While I am not a person of faith, whichever Creator, God, or higher being wanted me to find journalism.  People will ask me how I got into journalism, and I'll tell them I got lucky.  And I really did.  I didn't want to be where I am now.  I didn't even sign up for the class, but it all ended up working out.  I thank that higher being for making me stick with journalism through all those bad hair days and long hours.  The long hours remind me of the responsibility that journalists have - the power to inform- and what can happen if that power is misused.  (and the bad hair days ensure that I stay humble).  The world needs more truth seekers, and I've devoted myself to just that.

I reflect back on my four years in a journalism program and just how much I've been able to accomplish - conventions, awards, recognitions, meeting new people and professionals in the industry, to meeting new people at my school.  I'm grateful that I forced myself to do this - to compile all the memories of the past four years into this portfolio.   I look back at the over 2 million minutes and hope that I've left my community a better place than I found it through the power of storytelling.  Journalism has given me a path in life and has helped shape my goals for the future - to begin to tell stories at any capacity.  The hunger that journalism opened for me will never be satisfied, and it's what keeps me driven.