Throughout my time at The Ticker, I have written more than 220 articles — 33 in freshman year, 73 in sophomore year, 25 in junior year and 90 in senior year — but this one was the hardest to write.

I’ve reported on protests, layoffs, inequity, deaths and suicides, but this one story that you’re reading right now was the one I have dreaded since the end of my freshman year.

This is the last article I will write for The Ticker, and this is my goodbye.

I joined The Ticker in my very first week of freshman year as a news writer. In high school, I was the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, so coming into Baruch College, I knew that I was going to major in journalism, join the school newspaper, graduate and then hopefully work in journalism for the rest of my career. I thought it was a pit stop. It was so much more.

Each week of the fall 2018 semester, I covered campus events for the news section. I still remember my very first one: the Latinx Heritage Month kickoff event in the second-floor lobby. That story made the top front slot of the front page.

By the end of the semester, I had written for nearly every issue. I moved up from being a contributing writer to a staff writer, and I even started covering bigger stories. I was asked to be the news assistant for my second semester, spring 2019.

As the news assistant, I helped the new news editor with her transition into the section and produced it with her. I began spending a lot of time in the Media Suite, which houses The Ticker’s offices.

After just a few weeks, the executive board felt I was doing so much work that they created a new higher position for me, associate news editor. I held that role for the rest of my freshman year.

In my sophomore year, in the fall of 2019, I became the co-news editor. That year, I bonded really well with my writers, a few of whom are still at Baruch today — some who are now even masthead members of The Ticker. In Spring 2020, I was the sole news editor and was elected as the following year’s managing editor.

That was also the year that I started doing photography and drawing graphics for The Ticker.

The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in a lot of my plans, and The Ticker’s plans, but we transitioned into a fully online format and kept going.

I took over as the managing editor in the fall of 2020 and was in charge of running the internal dealings of the newspaper, from the masthead staff all the way to the writers and graphic designers. It was a job I wanted to do in person, in print, but I worked as hard as I could with what I had.

I was elected to be editor-in-chief for my senior year, 2021-2022. That’s where I am now, with just a few more weeks left.

My journey within The Ticker has been long, full of late nights in The Ticker’s bullpen, creative disagreements over how to run the newspaper, an insane amount of writing, broken down computers and a lot of work.

But most of all, my time with The Ticker has been full of love.

I love The Ticker with all my heart. It is my comfort zone. It is my safe space. It is my home.

I have spent four years in this office, learning, laughing, crying, eating, sleeping, writing, editing and just existing with my friends.

We’ve bonded over our shared passion for journalism and truth-telling — and also over laying out the paper on a Friday night at 11 p.m. with the editor-in-chief, managing editor and copy chief all waiting on us.

The members of The Ticker are more than just a school newspaper staff. They are a group of beautiful souls. They are some of the most hardworking people I have ever met. My friends here are kind, dedicated, empathetic and caring.

They work so hard to bring the Baruch and CUNY communities honest, trustworthy reporting with so little thanks. So, thank you. It’s important to me that everyone knows how grateful and thankful I am to them for all that they do to make The Ticker the amazing newspaper and place that I know it to be.

And more than that, thank you for being my friends. Thank you for being there for me through all the craziness that college can bring.

The Ticker would not be the same without all of them. Baruch would not be the same without The Ticker.

My time at Baruch has been shaped by my experiences at The Ticker. If I were to write all the things I wanted to say in this letter, I would fill up a 20-page newspaper with my words.

I learned more about journalism by working for The Ticker than anywhere else. I have learned so much in this office, from AP Style and InDesign tricks to how to work with all kinds of personalities. I’ve learned more about time management — or, rather, how important time management is — and how to send professional emails. I’ve learned how to console people and when to just listen. The list goes on.

This is where I found my community. Every day, I walk into the office, kick off my shoes and spend the day with my best friends.

It breaks my heart knowing I have to leave this place now. It feels like I’m leaving home.

But it’s time for me to move on to what comes next and to let my friends take the reins. Four years has been a long time. Now, it’s time for new leadership and a new era.

The memories I have made here will never leave me. My time at The Ticker has been the most impactful time of my life so far, and I will always rep The Ticker’s signature blue color.

It is my hope that everyone who walks through the Media Suite door will get this experience with The Ticker, where the love outweighs the stress and work. That’s the experience every student deserves.

It’s my time to say goodbye to Baruch and to The Ticker, but my love for this organization and its people will never fade.

The Ticker will always be my home.