Dear Marywood Community,

As a graduating Editor-in-Chief, I feel obligated to write an open letter to thank those who have made it such a pleasure for me to attend Marywood. I am honored to have served you this past year, and it certainly has been a learning experience.

To President Sister Anne Munley, with your progressive leadership, Marywood has come so far since I was a freshman. Loughran and Madonna Halls were renovated, and the Woodland Townhouses are being expanded. The Mellow Center was built, and it, too, is being expanded. We have added an entire college to the University and converted the old Health and Physical Education Center into the Architectural Studies Center. (As a sidenote, if you haven’t been in the new building, I highly recommend walking in to take a look around. It is a gorgeous building). We also offer two new sports, lacrosse and swimming and diving.

To the Vice Presidents and Deans, you have what I’m sure are thankless jobs. It is because of you that Marywood has such wonderful academic programs. To all the teachers I have had the pleasure of having, thank you for sharing your knowledge of your respective areas. Marywood’s teaching staff is phenomenal.

To the faculty and staff of the Communication Arts program, a huge thank you. I would like to especially thank Pat Trojanowicz, department secretary. She will do anything for anybody and is by far the most valuable member of the department’s staff. I really feel the Communication Arts Department is a hidden gem at Marywood. It, like the University as a whole, has made great strides since my first day of classes in 2006. This year especially has been a banner year for the department, with the Communications Week that featured PRSSA’s PR Boot Camp, the Communications Panel featuring industry leaders and Marywood alumni, and Senior Seminar presentations. The week’s success just goes to show the department’s commitment to providing its students with extensive experience and opportunies to learn outside the classroom. The addition of the Journalism major in the fall will be a great asset to the department. As much as students complain about the practicum program, it is really a great part of the department. It gives students the chance to get involved and “get their hands dirty” starting their freshman year. I’m sure most major universities don’t let students start using video production equipment until later in their education. It also adds great experience to students’ resumes. I just can’t say enough about how it’s helped me enhance my resume and expand my portfolio.

To Ann Williams, our faculty advisor, you are the greatest newspaper advisor ever. Whenever we have problems with deadlines, writers, or other situations, you have always been there to calm me down and help me find a solution. If it had not been for you, I would have literally gone crazy this year. You are a great advisor and an even better friend.

To Paul Sevensky, I owe you so much I can’t begin to explain it. I have learned so much from your classes,working with you in PRSSA, and from our political discussions. If I had an MVP award to give a teacher, you would win it, hands down.

To Mandy Boyle, my partner in crime, your friendship means the world to me. I have had so much fun working with you on The Wood Word, PRSSA, and senior seminar. If I cry at graduation, I know I can count on you to judy-chop some sense into me.

To the members of the Marywood community who reached out to my family after the death of my father, your compassion means the world to me.

I would like to end my final article for The Wood Word with some advice for the underclassmen: get involved. Some majors require students to get involved, but I think all students should do it anyway. You will have amazing experiences and will meet so many great people. Some of my closest friends that I met at Marywood, I met because of my extracurricular involvement. Enjoy your time at Marywood. It will be some of the best years of your life, but they will fly by. As someone who is getting ready to enter the “real world,” trust me–I would rather stay at Marywood. Get to know your advisor and the teachers in your department. They have a wealth of information just waiting to be shared. (To those in the Communication Arts Department, take classes with Paul Sevensky, Dr. Lawrence, and Ernie Mengoni. Their combined expertise will be such an asset to you).

Thank you, Marywood community, for allowing me to serve you as Editor-in-Chief this past year. My Marywood experience has truly made me a better leader, a better citizen, and a better person.