HAMZIK: Times have changed. As have I.
THIRD FLOOR, ELON TOWN CENTER — All I wanted to do was cover some Elon sporting events. I had dreams of sitting in press boxes over campus and across the region, chowing down on all the food I could get my hands on and writing about Elon’s athletic highs and lows. I couldn’t have imagined the lengths to which student media would strech and push me to grow into a versatile journalist who’s as well-versed in what kerning and inch-counts are as the format of VOSOTs and NAT pops. I’ll look back on my four years with student media at Elon fondly, thinking of the amazing colleagues and advisers, the dozens of ridiculous inside jokes and the transformation we underwent from two separate legacy media organizations to one merged, digital-first news network. Or should I say mobile-first? From being deemed the “Future of The Pendulum” while I covered my first sporting event (hat tip and hair sniff to you, Matt Krause and Adam Smith), to lengthy small talk conversations about nothing with Colin to later being tasked with leading the merger of The Pendulum and Elon Local News, it’s been a special ride filled with red ball, ill-advised trips to Smitty’s for milkshakes and just a few uses of the salute, “Greetings!” There have been trips to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas, where I’m still wondering how Michael and I ran into Colin and Uncle Tommy at the Bier Garden.
