For my past EIC,

Even before I was in your shoes and could fully understand what this position had in store, I saw how hard you worked for our community. Balancing the Odyssey on top of everything else in life is not easy, but you did it. And you did it well.

You had many words for our community: Team. Organization. Family. You used these words in different ways, but they all meant so much to you. Our team was successful and worked together. Our organization belonged to something bigger than ourselves, our university. Our family was there for each other, we supported each other in the hard times, and lifted each other up with our accomplishments.

Since I became President and we took on a new EIC, there have been a lot of changes. Some members said goodbye to the Odyssey, but even more are saying hello. My only hope is to build this community back up to the full potential you made it.

You gave us so many tools to grow to be the best we could be. You taught us how to submit through Muse, when to set our articles to go live so they get the best reach, and so much about grammar and how to write correctly. You primed us for anything and everything, and for that I am so grateful.

Now that I am in your shoes, I understand how tasking this job is on your time. It does take a lot of work to lead an Odyssey team, and I am lucky that I do not have to do it alone. But it is very rewarding too. Watching writers grow personally, watching our team grow in size, and getting to read what our community has to offer shows how much potential our community has.

I promise I will make you proud. I will build up this community and take care of your baby like it was my own. Taking on this role is starting to change me for the better. I am more of a soft-spoken person, and I don’t really know how to control a room like you did. I am starting to learn how to be a better speaker in front of people and become a better leader at that.

Thank you for being such an amazing role model. You have taught me so much and over my time with the Odyssey, you have given me all of the tools to be successful. You are an amazing leader, inside and out.

I will miss you as my EIC, but I will never stop being your friend.