This is the part of the paper where I’m supposed to tell you who I am and what I do. I’m also supposed to engage in the obligatory, “Welcome to UNA, and you should get involved to make the most of your time here,” chit-chat.

So, I like those cliché long walks on the beach, deep conversations, 90s music and red velvet cake. I’m a fifth-year senior double majoring in mass communication and sociology. I’m a baseball fanatic, I practically live in Target and sometimes I like dogs more than people.

In addition to all of that, I am a journalist who is deeply passionate about the publication you’re holding in your hands.

For the last two years, I’ve invested my life in The Flor-Ala. That may sound like an overstatement, but it’s true. I’ve gone from volunteering as a student and staff writer to working for a year as the online editor, and I’m now taking the position of managing editor.

Each year is different and brings with it new challenges to face and overcome. Each year, the staff is different – it’s a collective melting pot of personalities and beliefs, all thrown together in one office to produce a weekly newspaper.

And you know what? It’s amazing. I’m never surprised by what The Flor-Ala accomplishes. We are an office full of students dedicated to serving one audience: you.

You are the reason we do what we do. You are the reason we’ll haul ourselves out of bed at 2 a.m. to cover a breaking news story. You are the reason we hold officials and administrators on this campus accountable for the things they say and do. It’s you who we’re here to serve.

Honestly, you won’t like everything we write. There will be some weeks that you will hate an article in our paper. And in the same breath, there will be articles that make you really appreciate what we do.

You see, we’re just like you. We go to class. Many of us on staff are involved in other student and community organizations. We like to have fun on the weekends and we get stressed about homework and finals. We’re always down for a free meal.

So, it only makes sense that we want to keep you informed. We want you to know what the big decisions are on this campus. We want to talk about what’s important to you, because those issues are pretty important to us, too.

Whether you decide to love or hate us, know this: you are the driving force behind everything we do. If there’s ever a week during which you feel like this isn’t the case, please let us know.

And if I could impart any wisdom upon you as you begin your journey here at UNA, it truly would be to get involved. There is something here for everyone, and college is only as good as you make it.

Find your niche. Find the place on this campus that you can call home, and then do big things. I never dreamed that my time with The Flor-Ala would lead me to the places it has, but in all honesty, I wouldn’t be half of the person I am without this paper.

So, over the course of the coming year, take the time to find out what this place has to offer you. Then go do great things. But most importantly, just enjoy your time here at UNA. It will be gone before you know it.