I recently had an insightful conversation with a former member of the Ticker. A story of a section editor who learned to develop meaningful connections with their writers. It was inspiring how a person could learn so much about an industry without having any prior knowledge or experience.
They completely reinvented their section within two years by scouring the Ticker’s archives and studying its content in prior issues, redefining the topics they pitched based on the writer’s interests and learning how to better promote themselves.
I will remember this moment I shared with them for the rest of my life, our conversation left a lasting impact on me. Our chat provided me with clarity about my emotions regarding my experiences at the Ticker.
It gave me insight into the challenges my predecessors had to face. It gave meaning to the role I had to fill as News editor and how everyone at The Ticker had to step up to the plate to take on these tremendous responsibilities.
Baruch’s newspaper is so much bigger than all of us and it is only through our persistence and determination that the Ticker’s legacy lives on.
Every member of The Ticker is passionate about the work they’re doing for this student-run newspaper. We strive for excellence and, dare I say, perfection. We aspire to be paragons of student journalism.
We all went, and continue, to go to great lengths to make The Ticker what it is by pouring our heart and soul into each issue we publish.
We would traverse through the darkness without any fear of the unknown. Even if we went into The Ticker knowing nothing about journalism, we’d leave with a heap of knowledge about the media production process. We’d figure out how everything works in due time.
I joined masthead at a time when everyone there was new to their position. As I was familiarizing myself with my role as news editor, I realized that we were all partaking in the same learning process. In an organization like The Ticker, you never stop learning.
But there was comfort in knowing that we were all on this journey together and that this was a trial period. However, the challenges and unforeseen circumstances we faced were relentless. Despite the pressure everyone faced, we succeeded in upholding The Ticker’s legacy.
We all aspired to continue the greatness of this newspaper, which has existed since 1932; to meet the standards that were over 90 years in the making.
It is quite admirable that we not only strived to maintain the status quo but go above and beyond it. The members of this organization only become more talented and sophisticated individuals as they rise The Ticker’s rankings.
This organization reaches for the sky, believing that the opportunities to improve are endless. We are constantly figuring out ways that The Ticker can provide insightful commentary on Baruch’s faculty, events and student body.
We might also be thinking about how we can perfectly encapsulate our decade through our work so that when future generations of The Ticker family look back on our work, we can say that we were proud of our reporting.
With the work we do at The Ticker, we continue to set a precedent that we need to achieve more than our predecessors did. However, I want to leave you all with the message that we need to pause and look inward before we get too ahead of ourselves.
The pressure of upholding The Ticker’s legacy and making our mark on this publication is heavy on our shoulders. I think everyone should learn to be kinder to themselves by prioritizing their mental health and overall well-being.
Jim Rohn said it best, “To be successful you don’t need to do extraordinary things, you just need to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
The highlight of my experience at The Ticker was production nights and editorial meetings because the energy of the people who were a part of The Ticker lit up the room.
I bonded with every section editor and they’re the funniest, sweetest, most brilliant people I’ve ever met! Jahlil is the Ticker’s biggest cheerleader; he always found a way to make me smile. I’m thankful for Atifah, who I got to know very well and she feels like an older sister to me.
I also wouldn’t have gotten through this semester without my dear friend Adriana. She’s been by my side through everything, from my happiest moments to my most stressful ones.
As I depart from the Ticker, my goal is to instill these beliefs in my successor. I believe that we should always check in with ourselves and take care of ourselves, in order to prevent ourselves from feeling burnout. Your success shouldn’t come at your own expense because if it does, you can’t fully savor the moment or revel in your achievements.
I wish her the best as she learns how to become a part of the legacy. I can only hope things will become better for those who come after us.
