I worked at Technician in one capacity or another for almost three and a half years. This is my senior year, and all things have to come to an end. The other day, the clock struck midnight, and it was done. Instantly, silently and without any physical end. With us all being home, there was no final night in the office or celebration with the staff, or an awesome beach trip like last year. 

Even the last day I was acting as editor-in-chief, nothing felt different than usual. It all hit me at midnight, when volume 100 of Technician came to an end. Signing out of my email and leaving the Slack channel were both emotionally difficult for me to do.

It was a fantastic year, despite the underwhelming end and the disruption caused by the pandemic. We celebrated the 100th birthday of Technician in February. Having the opportunity to lead the publication through that was incredible. It required a lot of hard work and late nights to prepare for, but was a lot of fun. I’ll never forget it.

I joined Technician as a freshman in January of 2017 as a video correspondent. I took some film production classes in high school and wanted to continue learning video production. Since then, I’ve also learned to write, edit, lead and do so many other things. I only wish I did more earlier.

All of the people I have had the privilege to work with are incredible. It’s more than a workplace; it’s a community. And while I’ll stay in touch with many of these people, leaving that community behind is going to be extremely difficult, especially given the current circumstances where we’re all social distancing. 

And of course, I need to thank not just the editorial staff, but all of the staff writers and correspondents. To those of you, particularly photographers and videographers, who have been left without much to do, I’m sorry you’ve had to end the year this way. And I want to thank the readers. Without you, we wouldn’t have this opportunity.

In a way, this column is my closure. It makes up for the lack of a final night in the office or trip with all of my friends at Technician. 

I expect my graduation will be equally underwhelming. All of a sudden, everything will just be over, and I’ll be a college graduate. 

But there’s a bright side. This pandemic will end. Maybe not soon, and it will continue to take its toll on individuals and society, but it will end. Technician is in good hands. The new editor, Rachael Davis, will do an amazing job, and Technician’s new leadership staff looks fantastic. Eventually, they’ll be back in the office, staying up late and making a paper again. I look forward to them being able to do that. It’s a lot of fun.

As for myself, I’m looking forward to coming out the other side of this. Maybe I’ll even find a job. Wouldn’t that be neat?

Dan