I never thought I’d be the leader of an organization in college.

When I joined student media, I had my eyes set on one thing and one thing only — covering sports. I wanted to write or broadcast sporting events, and that’s all.

Sure, I eventually wanted to move up in organizations. When I joined The Quinnipiac Chronicle the spring semester of my freshman year, my goal was to become the men’s ice hockey beat reporter and eventually, the sports editor.

By the end of my second year at Quinnipiac, I had accomplished both. With my third and final year of undergrad school approaching, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I felt like I should get a job or an internship. Being a 3+1 student speeds up your timeline and I even considered leaving The Chronicle and student media as a whole so I could build my resume with internships and part-time work.

Again, I had never even had the slightest desire to run an entire organization. So, when Editor-in-Chief applications went out, they came and went without my application. I didn’t feel I was ready, nor did I want the responsibilities.

But then I thought about it more. I had accomplished all the goals I had set when I began my work with The Chronicle. I felt like I could be a decent leader, so I began to think, “Why not me?”

I’ll never forget the moment I seriously considered becoming EIC. I was killing time between classes, sitting in the upper cafe, probably scrolling through Twitter or attempting to start an assignment. After much contemplation, I reached out to the current EIC and arranged a meeting.

We sat and talked for an hour. I asked questions about what exactly an EIC does, what is needed from him or her, what else besides the paper does he or she have to do.

I then decided to take a risk and become the Editor-in-Chief. I thought I was not ready. I thought it was something that I originally didn’t think I’d want. I thought I was stepping into a situation that I wouldn’t be comfortable with.

A year later, I realized that I was wrong for all the right reasons.

Turns out, I was ready. And I did want it. Deep, deep down, I knew that I wanted to be a leader.

Most importantly, I knew what I wanted to do as a leader, and I knew what had to be done. And looking back on it now, I can’t believe that all of the goals we set have come true, and we have also achieved so much more.

The Chronicle has grown leaps and bounds this year. With the ever-changing world of media, The Chronicle needed to adapt. And we didn’t just adapt — we thrived.

We were able to grow our staff back to where it once was. We got a brand new website with a much sleeker look for digital media. We had our design team come out of its comfort zone and be more creative with designs, graphs and artwork in the paper. We re-designed the front page of our newspaper to enhance the visuals.

Most importantly, I gained a family. Our Tuesday deadline days were still stressful and long, but I never dreaded them because I knew I would be spending time with people that I enjoyed. Members would stay after our weekly meetings, just to socialize and catch up. Many times, our editorial board eboard meetings ended at 7 p.m. but I wouldn’t leave the room until an hour later, busy talking more to our e-board members.

I truly am appreciative of the opportunities The Chronicle gave me, and I am appreciative of everyone’s efforts.

Thank you to the wonderful staff, that grew and grew and grew throughout the year and improved every single week.

Thank you to the School of Communications and to the Campus Life faculty and staff that was always there for advice and helping us along the way.

Thank you to the editorial board, who grew as leaders, and I know the future of The Chronicle is in tremendous hands.

Thank you to my managing board of Alexis Guerra and Janna Marnell, for always being there when I needed it. You always kept me in check and provided the balance that was needed to run an organization.

Most importantly, thank you, readers. For being there every week, picking up a newspaper, checking out our website and being the reason that we gathered every week to be the voice of the Quinnipiac community. Without you, there is no Chronicle.

I know this was not the way I wanted to end my year as the Editor-in-Chief, isolated away from all of my fellow Chronicle members and unable to publish a physical newspaper. But the six to seven months that we were together, gathered in the media suite, were absolutely worth it.

I’m so grateful that I decided in the upper cafe that day that I wanted to take on a challenge that I had never faced before. I took a risk, and I cannot imagine where I would be without it.