When I was a professional writing student at Douglas, I used to read the Other Press every week, excited to see articles by my friends and classmates gracing its pages. Even though I was a writer, I had close ties to the paper, and I read it often, it never occurred to me to put myself out there, attend a meeting, and write for it. I always told myself that it wasn’t the sort of writing I would be good at.
It wasn’t until my dear friend and former Editor-in-Chief Eric Wilkins encouraged me to come to meetings and apply for News Editor that I first stepped into the room. Looking back, I’m so grateful to him for pushing me, and to myself for listening and putting myself out there. Starting as News Editor was abrupt, and scary, and difficult. I didn’t get the adjustment period of coming in as a tentative contributor and moving up through the ranks. But I worked hard at the News Editor position, and then as Assistant Editor, and I proved to myself that journalism was something I was good at, and it is now what I want to do as a career.
This is where I’ve now spent the last year and a half of my life, with my friends and colleagues, all working our hardest to turn out the best possible issue we can for all of you. I hope you enjoy the paper, and keep reading it throughout the year. We do our best to keep all of our content relevant to Douglas and its students, so you won’t just be reading the same articles you’re seeing everywhere else. And for those who were like me, if writing is something you’re interested in at all, come out to a meeting. At worst, you’ve wasted 30 minutes of your time, but it’s possible that it could change your life like it did mine.
It’s hard to believe that I’m now the person in charge of this fantastic team. I hope we all keep you entertained and informed each semester like the Other Press did for me.
Until next issue,
Lauren Kelly
