Graduation Issue 2022

Halfway through my time at Northwestern, I thought a combination of factors would have cost me any chance of having things worth remembering from my college experience. I was what could be generously described as socially nomadic, constantly experiencing FOMO and isolation. With COVID-19 still forcing Zoom lectures and activities, I considered the possibility that I’d be largely confined to my dorm or residence as long as I was an undergraduate.

Instead, I’m writing these words in an Oklahoma City motel room, which I’m sharing with someone who I never met in person 48 hours ago, having just completed an article on Northwestern softball’s opening game in the Women’s College World Series. I’ve been on several excursions for The Daily, but until now, none of them involved seeing buffalo for the first time, visiting a rooftop restaurant/bar and sharing a press box with a New York Times reporter.

How did I get here?

I don’t know what compelled me to respond to that recruitment email. Every other contributor to this special edition joined The Daily pre-pandemic, but as some of the seniors in future graduation issues can tell you, starting in the virtual newsroom was not the same, especially once I had acclimated to the real thing.

The upper floors of Norris University Center were a complete labyrinth the first time I tried to navigate them. But every time I stumbled to those now-familiar couches and desks, gradually recognizing more and more faces along the way, I was physically and metaphorically finding a sense of direction.

The Medill School of Journalism didn’t fully prepare me for the types of obstacles I’d encounter at The Daily, however. Lacking the necessary space to record podcast audio for my first story, I spent almost as much time looking for an unoccupied room as I did writing the script. I eventually settled on a storage closet in Foster-Walker Complex’s basement, brushing off spider webs like a horror movie protagonist to distance myself from the whirring fan in the other corner. The other unfamiliar territories I traversed weren’t as literal, but I probably looked equally lost trying to maneuver through them.

This outlet polished my reporting and editing skills, unquestionably, but it also introduced me to untold shenanigans and the people I’d share them with. As I prepare to graduate, my gains in sleep are my losses in memories that were formative enough to build entire friendships upon. I even crashed in the newsroom on a handful of nights where I had no Daily-related responsibilities at all. Putting together a newspaper was why I came, but my co-workers were why I stayed.

Becoming a part of The Daily wasn’t a magic pill that solved all of my problems — in some cases, it only displaced some of the stresses in my life with different ones. That said, looking back at one of the physically and emotionally unhealthiest points in my life, I’m more than satisfied with the decision I made to join. My only regret is not making it sooner.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @nathanjansell