Photo courtesy of Kristen Elizabeth Photography

New Year’s resolutions — they are something many people set every year. In fact, according to a recent survey, 34% of U.S. adults said they would make one for 2024, with some of the most popular being to improve fitness, finances and mental health. 

In previous years, my resolution would have been to stop drinking Coke from McDonald’s or to read more books, but not this year. This year, my New Year’s resolution is to be the best editor-in-chief of The Oakland Post I can be.

I knew I wanted to be a writer from a young age, but knowing what type of writer was not something I realized until I was sixteen. I joined my high school’s student-run online newspaper in my junior year out of pure curiosity, not knowing it would alter the course of my life forever. 

I learned so much in that classroom, aside from AP Style. I learned the people around me, classmates and teachers alike, all had a story to tell, and I wanted to be the one to share it. I returned the following year and became the editor-in-chief. It was then I knew I wanted to go into journalism.

After graduating, I attended Macomb Community College before officially becoming a golden grizzly in the winter of 2022 in pursuit of my B.A. in journalism. I also began my relationship with The Oakland Post as a contributor that semester before officially becoming a “postie” in the fall of 2022 as a features reporter. 

It was nerve-wracking at first. I remember aimlessly trekking around the Oakland Center before I went up to my first student and conducted my first interview. But after that first interview, and the second and the third, it progressively began to feel effortless, and I found myself looking forward to getting to meet and get the OU community’s opinions on various topics.

I also established a relationship with people I never would have connected with had it not been for The Oakland Post. It became an invaluable experience that helped me kickstart my career in journalism and ensured I was making the most of my time at OU. 

While I felt satisfied with my relationship with the OU community, I knew I wanted to build a better relationship with The Oakland Post staff. When I became the content editor in the summer of 2023, I got to work more closely with staff members and see everyone’s talents and passions come to life.

I also spearheaded the program that helped start my connection with The Oakland Post — the contributor program. I got to work closely with students in the same position I had been in only a year prior. It felt like a full-circle moment. 

Having established a relationship with the OU community as a features reporter and strengthening my relationship with The Oakland Post staff as the content editor, I am beyond honored to be given the opportunity to take what I’ve learned from both positions and implement them into my role as editor-in-chief in my last semester at OU. 

Oakland University is fortunate to have access to a newspaper like The Oakland Post. I invite aspiring journalists and the OU community to follow along as our staff strives to provide independent student journalism in the continuation of volume 49 of The Oakland Post.

Most New Year’s resolutions are doomed to fail. Most people who want to improve their fitness stop going to the gym by February, and I haven’t been able to stop myself from drinking Coke from McDonald’s yet. But this year’s New Year’s resolution? I am determined to keep it.