What’s good, everyone! My name is Michael Berger, and welcome to my farewell letter.
At The Ticker, I am the Founder, Director and Host of the sports podcast Bearcat Den, a Senior Staff Writer for sports and the Human Resources Director for Ticker and Snapshots, the yearbook we have newly absorbed.
As a transfer student at Baruch College, I would never have thought that I would be writing something like this.
I used to be the type of student who would go to classes and go home. At Baruch, I found an opportunity to do so much more.
I was introduced to The Ticker by the former Editor-In-Chief Emanuela Gallo in 2022.
I had an idea to combine my passion for sports, podcasting and journalism. In 2023, The Ticker gave me the greatest opportunity: to become the founder, director and host of a sports podcast called Bearcat Den, which you should be following on Spotify and subscribed to on YouTube. This semester, my responsibilities expanded to include being Human Resources Director.
Over my two years at The Ticker, I realized that it’s more than just a school newspaper. Writing is freedom; you can vocalize anything you want about any topic. It’s a community where journalists can express the concerns and interests of the student body.
Each writer’s piece shows character, facts and uniqueness. No two articles are going to be written the same way. Writing reflects the hard work you put into it: hours of feedback, editing and learning.
As for the Bearcat Den, we began in The Ticker’s supply closet with two chairs, boxes for a desk and an iPhone Voice Memo app. Fast forward to today, we now record and film a full podcast studio, thanks to Baruch’s student-run radio station, WBMB.
Every weekend, for 30 episodes, I would watch and read sports news, then create a podcast script. One year, I even edited the audio for each podcast as well.
It’s something I never would have expected to grow so rapidly, and I’m beyond proud of the product that it is today. I’m thrilled to leave it behind in the hands of my successor, Ashanti Charon. I know she will do what’s best for the podcast to keep growing, so I can’t wait to see what she has planned. I’ll most definitely be tuning in.
As the Human Resource Director, I had an incredible opportunity to do things for The Ticker that were beyond what we thought would be possible, considering it’s a new position. I planned The Ticker’s first-ever out-of-state conference for the masthead members, managed distributors and handled talent acquisition, training and development.
One of the key moments was planning the conference for the masthead. Through all the challenges we faced while planning and coordinating it, with the help of Maya Demchak-Gottlieb, Akilah Campbell and Sonia Kalo, I knew that with this team, anything was possible, and we would be ready to face whatever came our way.
To The Ticker and Snapshots staff, I cannot thank you enough for everything. Your support has, throughout my time here, inspired me to be better and make The Ticker scale greater heights.
I’m truly blessed and grateful to be a part of the hardest-working organization Baruch has to offer.
The person I was entering Baruch as is now leaving as a completely changed person. If I had told myself three years ago everything I have done, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’m forever grateful for how Ticker developed my professional skills and all of the lifelong friends that I made along the way.
The Ticker and Snapshots are more than just a newspaper and a yearbook. I’ve made memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
As your host and your Human Resource Director, I’m signing out one last time. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more of what The Ticker has to offer.
