Hello there.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jennifer Young, and I am this year’s news editor for the Mustang Daily. My job and goal is to give the readers of the Mustang Daily the news. Sounds simple right? Not when you know next to nothing about what happens at Cal Poly or in the San Luis Obispo community.
Let me elaborate.
I am a transfer student and this is my first quarter at Cal Poly. You are probably wondering why someone would apply for such a demanding position at the newspaper before being officially enrolled.
Well that’s me, filling up my plate first and then figuring out how to manage second. Don’t fret though, this isn’t my first rodeo. I was the news and op/ed editor for my hometown community college newspaper prior to transferring to Cal Poly. When I got my acceptance letter from Cal Poly in February my first thought was “Hooray” and my second thought was “I’m going to have two years. I need to squeeze as much out of those two years as I can.”
Cut to four months later when, through a Skype interview, the Mustang Daily editor-in-chief and managing editor offer me the position of news editor. Fantastic, I have a job waiting for me when fall quarter begins, and now I must attempt to learn everything I can about Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo and generate story ideas for my reporters … in a week.
This leads me to my next point.
I am a junior, and I feel like I know as much about this place as a newly moved-in freshman. Every day for the past three weeks I’ve heard some term or have seen a new place that I have to ask someone about because, dare I say, I’m the newbie. Yup, that’s me. I haven’t had the experience of living in a dorm (heartbreaking I know), have yet to hike Bishop Peak and have not gone line dancing downtown on a Thursday night. In this essence, I am a freshman. Learning about all the inner workings and nuances that make Cal Poly, well, Cal Poly. I find myself asking who people are and what they are talking about quite often.
Many times in the past couple weeks while working in the newsroom my cohorts have told funny stories about late nights in the newsroom, practical jokes they have played on each other or reliving the moments of the quirky quotes that are immortalized on the walls. I sit at my desk, just listening. Partly because I wasn’t there and have no clue what they are talking about, and partly because I’m too fixated on my computer screen, attempting to turn out the best news pages I possibly can in a timely fashion so that I won’t be that “newbie” anymore.
Then it hit me, it’s OK to be new. That’s what this whole college experience is about. New people, new places and new knowledge. At one time each of the people around me was new here too. They probably went through the same thing I am going through. They survived, so will I. Eventually, I’ll be old news and more newbies will come along like eager little beavers and when they do, I’ll be there to educate them on living with roommates, tackling Bishop Peak and how to not make a fool of yourself line dancing at The Grad.
Until that time rolls around I’ll embrace my status as the new girl and focus my efforts of making the most out of the news section so that I can best serve you, our readers. So if there is something you think I need to know, then by all means, let me know. As you all now know, I have a lot to learn.
‘Til next time.