I Graduated From UNC: Some Thank You's Are In Order

07 Jul, 2016

I started writing this just ahead of my graduation back in May, but because I’m a natural procrastinator and also because I wanted to take the time to do this right, I’m just now getting around to finishing it. Hopefully the extra time was worth it.¹

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I never graduated from high school.

Well — let me clarify. I didn’t walk at my high school graduation due to some extenuating circumstances that involve being an 18-year-old and also being pretty dumb. (Don’t worry, no one was hurt or anything.) So it’s kind of weird to be here, four years later, waiting in Chapel Hill to graduate from one of the best universities in the country.

This year I have to take part in the commencement ceremonies. If I don’t, my mom will probably kill me. And if she doesn’t then certainly my grandmother will. Back in high school I had to tell her I wasn’t going to be walking at graduation. She had already planned on making a trip to North Carolina from Florida just for the occasion. Somehow, she took it in stride:

“We’ll just have more time to party now.”

While I was extremely grateful for that sentiment back then, I don’t think I can risk going for it again this year. With that, I felt the need to take a moment and thank all of the people who have helped me along the way over these past four years—which have gone by entirely too quickly, by the way.

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The first people are obvious: mom and dad.

There’s no question that I would never have been here without them, and I’m sure everyone else who graduated around the country can say the same thing. But here are just some of the things my parents have taught me over the past 22 years that I’m incredibly thankful for.

My dad is the hardest working person I’ve ever met. He left high school when he was just 16 and starting working. I don’t think he’s stopped yet. I’ll always remember the long hours that he spent at work trying to provide for us. How he started his own cabinet business in addition to his work with the fire station and spent countless weekends creating beautiful kitchen sets and anything else someone wanted him to build. I’ll also remember how he would bring me and my brothers along with him. I may have hated that at the time, but there was a lesson there. You have to work extremely hard at what you’re doing, whatever that may be, to get what you want in life. Thanks for all those days making me sand things, Pops.

My mom is the kindest and most supportive person I’ve ever met. I’m pretty sure she was also the first person who put the idea of writing into my head, back when she was on the cutting edge of technology in the classroom — and still is today — and implementing blogs with her students. When I found out about that, it was over. I created my own (terrible) MLBlog about the Braves and I knew what I wanted to do with my life. My mom was the first reader I ever had and she’s stuck with me over the years — I think. Without her putting the idea into my head and supporting me along the way, I don’t know if I ever would have pursued this whole writing thing. So thank you for always being there to teach and support me, Mom. Oh, and she kills the Twitter game too.

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If you didn’t know, I was a sports writer at The Daily Tar Heel each semester here at UNC and from my first story (covering a women’s golf event) to my last (covering a national championship basketball game) many people have had an impact on me as both a writer and a person.

First up is Brandon Moree. Brandon was the Sports Editor when I was a freshman and he’s the reason I was able to do this sports writing thing every semester. He was also the first person to really show me how fun this could be. Thanks for taking the chance on me Brandon.

Next is Michael Lananna, who is one of the best writers I’ve worked with and has always been a guy I could turn to for advice. I’ll always remember the first time I wrote anything for the DTH—it was a really crappy volleyball blog — Mike sent me an email that was longer than what I had submitted, offering feedback, advice and encouragement. That email has stuck with me. If you’re someone who can write an email that sticks with another person four years later you’re probably 1) a really good writer and 2) a really good person. Mike is both. Thanks, Mike.

Grace Raynor was actually at the same volleyball game where I wrote that really crappy blog, and a few years later she wound up being Sports Editor. That year she also picked me to be one of her assistant editors, and that decision led to the most growth I’ve ever had as a writer. Being with “Goose” in the office three days a week allowed me to learn so much about the writing and editing process, and I can point to her for finally showing me how to write a lead that wasn’t complete trash. Thanks for putting up with me, Goose.

Aaron Dodson. This guy’s a legend. Aaron to most. “Comeback” to some. “QB1” to me. Aaron feels like an older brother to me now, and he must have had a similar mentality when he was here as a senior—my junior year—because he took me under his wing like no other person has at UNC. I’ll always miss having Aaron in my classes, goofing off around campus and in the office, and talking smack on the IM football field. Aaron taught me how to send mail — no, really, I wouldn’t have been able to apply for an internship without this guy—and he also taught me how to really tell someone’s story. We talked about writing as much as we talked about life, and fortunately we talked a lot. I’m going to miss those talks, but I’ll take solace in knowing that I’ll hear from you every time Bryce Harper homers against the Braves. Thanks for caring so much, bro.

Pat James, AKA Swaggy P, is the guy who kept the Sports Desk on its feet last year and he’s also the guy who let me go to Cameron Indoor to cover UNC-Duke and then to Houston to cover the NCAA Tournament. I feel like I’ve grown a lot closer to Pat this year as we traveled all over the country—Orlando, Philadelphia, Houston—talking about sports, making videos about sports and writing about sports. I’ll always admire how prepared and organized Pat is, and I’m extremely grateful to have been able to spend my last year care-free; simply going to awesome games while Pat handled all the dirty work. Thanks for always doing the photo requests, Pat.

Brendan Marks, you’re a romantic, but that’s OK. I still love you. Me and Brendan got along from the start in 2015 as assistant sports editors, and it’s been a blast listening to your terrible jokes and reading your amazing stories. It was incredibly fun having you come back from Spain and “refreshing” the sports podcast we did with your sometimes insane takes and always contagious laughter. You beat me in the DTH basketball tournament, and you even had the onions to yell “game” when you jacked up the winning shot. Never forget that I will always hate you for this moment, and I will forever claim to be a better basketball player than you in spite of it. Your trump card is that you will always be a better writer than me, which is great because it gives me perpetual motivation to improve. Thanks for that drive, Brendan.

Gabriella Cirelli. First of all, it’s extremely weird typing “Gabriella” because I’ve never once called you that in my life, but this seems like a pretty formal thing so I guess I have to. Gabbie was my go-to senior year at the DTH and is probably the closest thing I have to a sister. She’s also the sassiest person I’ve met and is never afraid to speak her mind with anyone and everyone. Being a blunt person myself, that resonates with me and I’ll always be thankful for that and all of our Chipotle dates — even though I’ll never let you forget that one time you ditched me at the pool. Whatever. Keep doing big things in the Big Apple, and thanks for keeping it real.

In addition to the people above, there were a plethora of people who impacted me inside the doors of 151 East Rosemary. I thought Robbie Harms was a high schooler when I met him at DTH orientation my freshman year. He actually turned out to be one of the best and funniest writers I’ve met, and the guy who quite literally gave me his old room in San Diego. Dylan Howlett is the only living human being to seamlessly use the word “kvetching” in a bomb story about NFL kickers, along with perpetually being in a state of kindness. Daniel Wilco toured me around Atlanta when I was away from home for the first time in my life, and also opened my eyes to the wild life of column writing. Erica Perel was always around the office to offer advice on writing, reporting, resume writing, and pretty much anything I could have needed help with. She also let me talk with visiting kids about what it’s like to be a sports writer at the DTH and be part of a workshop on covering the NCAA Tournament. Both experiences probably taught me more than I taught anyone else. It’s all of that, and all of you, that I’ll forever be grateful to. The Daily Tar Heel was one of the best learning experiences I had at UNC and I hope it stays that way for every other student who walks through the doors.

Naturally, at a school like UNC, there are going to be some professors who stand out among the crowd. There were two who made a profound impact on me during my time on campus, and without their classes I would be a lesser writer than whatever I might be currently.

The first is John Robinson. I took his news writing class back in the Fall of 2013. News writing — or JOMC 153 — is THE foundational Journalism class, and I tell all of my younger friends to try and take it with JR if they can. From the first day of class, it was clear that JR cared about each and every one of his students, and I’m happy to say that we still talk regularly today. I learned the basics of Journalism with JR: AP style, different leads, formatting, grammar, interviewing techniques, “kill your darlings,” etc. He was also the most brutal grader I’ve ever had, and many ink-stained pages later I think I’m better off for it. The following Fall, I took Feature writing with JR, and even though it was at 8 a.m., it’s still my favorite class. We got into the deeper aspects of writing and that was the first time that I had in-depth conversations with other people about writing as a craft. Perhaps more importantly though, JR always wanted the best for each of his students, and actively worked to help us out in whatever way he could. I know he’s done that for me, and I look forward to relying on his assistance in the future. You’re the man, JR. Looking back now, missing any of your classes is near the top of my list of regrets at UNC. Don’t take it too personally though… the classes were at 8 a.m. Thanks for being the best teacher.

Next is Tim Crothers, who’s written a few books and is a former Sports Illustrated scribe. I was lucky enough to get into his high-demand Creative Sports Writing class during the Spring of my Junior year, and I think that was the moment where I really started trying different things with my writing. Tim helped all of us look into the details of sporting events, and find ways to tell a story from a different angle: one that wasn’t the most obvious, but hopefully could be the most rewarding. We had a lot of laughs in this class, and it’s also the only class where I was able to write a profanity-laced story about suffering a dodgeball injury, and not get a failing grade for it. Thank you Tim, for opening my eyes a little bit more.

There are obviously more people who impacted my life throughout my time in Chapel Hill, and I’m grateful for each and every one of them, but I wanted to take the time to point out a few specific people who helped me along the way. I wouldn’t be here without each and every one of them.

So, for the final time in this too-long post, thank you.

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