When I walked into The Houstonian office in August 2003, I could have never imagined gaining the amount of friends, experiences, and character that I have now. I would love to give you my long story of how I got here but it just seems more honest to tell you about the people that have influenced me along the way. This is a thank you to all of you.
To the account executives, thank you so much for making my job so easy. This has been a tough year and you have all rode it out with me. I’ve never known anyone to work as hard as Jennie and still be so involved in other school activities. Good luck in the future though I know you won’t need it. Kendall Bass, I hope the business manager position will come to mean as much to you as my time here has meant to me. You are the perfect person for the job and I know you will continue the success. Katelyn Murphy, you’ve stepped in this semester and really made a contribution. I could always expect your work to be flawless. Kevin Honza, don’t think we forgot about you! You’re client relations skills are untrainable and we’ve truly missed you here. Finally Sally Hofmeister, the backbone of The Houstonian, I was so lucky to have you on staff during my tenure. Thank you for your all of your hard work and dedication.
I’m not a journalism major and I don’t pretend to know much about writing but I do know that since Shawn Farrell walked into the office, The Houstonian has been perfected and could match up to any other prestigious publication with no competition. Thank you for putting up with me. His abilities are only matched by Kenny, his successor, who has taken the paper and the staff and made it a friendly and stress-free environment. I have to also thank the girls who made me smile everyday. First, Christi Laney and Rachael Gleason, you have to be the nicest people I’ve ever met and you’ve really inspired me to see the good in everything. You touch more people than you realize with your kindness. Kristin Edwards, my neighbor and confidant in the workplace, thanks for everything. One more thing Rachael, just know that I still love you even though you’re not a Hillary Clinton supporter. Ok Brad, here is your five seconds of fame from me, I really do think your work is brilliant and I’m not as annoyed by you as I pretend to be.
Finally, to Dr. Bridges and Mr. Blackman, thank you for mentoring me this year. The experience and progress I’ve gained from The Houstonian is by far one of the proudest accomplishments I’ve made. I owe you so much.
To everyone else, four years go by so fast. Make the best of them. This school is amazing and the people you meet will forever change your life. I’m so thankful to Sam Houston State University and The Houstonian for allowing me to meet Obediah, the incredible professors, and the lifelong friends. Good luck to everyone in the future.
-Kristle Castillo
SHSU Graduate ’07
“So this is goodbye”
Three months, four days, two hours, and 28 minutes left to go
Yes that’s right, I have officially started the countdown until I graduate. With this countdown comes a sense of achievement knowing that I will soon be receiving a degree from Sam Houston State, but also a sense of sadness because I will be leaving my friends here at The Houstonian and SHSU.
Although I have only worked at The Houstonian for a year, I feel that the people I have met here have impacted my life more than I could ever expect. I took this job last fall thinking that it would just be a good work experience, but it turned out to be a great life experience as well. In this letter I want to take a moment to look back and reflect on my time here at The Houstonian.
I remember the first day I walked into the Houstonian office last fall: I met a petite girl with a very strong presence named Kristle Castillo. To me, Kristle has been more than just the Business Manager — she has been a support system many others and I. As I get to know her better, I only admire her more and more. I just want to thank her for believing in me enough to take a chance on me.
Jennie and Kendall, you have motivated me to keep going even at times when I was very close to giving up on this job. Jennie, I know that you have an extremely bright future ahead of you and hope we will meet again i.e. maybe somewhere in Europe. Kendall, while I am sad to be leaving, I know that you will keep the newspaper achieving advertising sales beyond its goals. Katelyn, although I have not gotten a chance to get to know you, your quirky jokes always make the office livelier.
The editorial staff, I just want to say that every Tuesday and Thursday I find myself rushing to campus just so I can read every word that is offered. I will miss each and every one of you. As I sit here and write this letter, I hear the all too familiar noise of the newsroom. And while some of the things we discuss are in no way profound, they never cease to make my day just that much happier.
In my year here, I have had the privilege of working under two great editors, Shawn and Kenny, you both are such talented writers and designers. To my three favorite viewpoints writers, Rachael, Kristin, and Brad, your articles have kept me awake through some pretty boring lectures at eight o’clock in the morning. I will admit that I am not a very avid sports person, but Christi Laney’s sports page always looks so awesome! I really cannot help but to read it. I am now an informed Bearkat athletics enthusiast, and for that I thank you.
Since I am running out of space I guess I should start rapping this up. I just want to say a last thank you to all the people that I might have forgotten. A special thanks to Michael Blackman and Janet Bridges, because they do so much for us here at the Newspaper; they are not only advisers, they are mentors and inspirations. I now look back on my four years in college and regretfully announce that I never obtained a heroine addiction or found God in a C.S. Lewis book. But I have made many friends, had great experiences, and will be leaving here with a great education. I will be proud to be a Bearkat forever!
-Sally Hofmeister
SHSU Graduate ’07