Goodbye from the Editor

I would like to take a few moments to thank you for reading Connect2Mason this past year and tell you what a pleasure it has been to serve as executive editor.

I have really enjoyed working with the C2M team, which has grown exponentially over the past year. We have been able to produce a variety of content through different platforms including video, audio recordings, photo slideshows and blogs. We have covered visits from President Barack Obama, Governor Mitt Romney, Jill Biden and Jim Lehrer. We have also covered significant weather events like Hurricane Sandy and the snowstorm earlier this year.

I have also been proud of many of the stories our team has produced including coverage of a proposal to donate unused meal plans, mold in one of the housing buildings, a cyber culture that is booming at Mason and a profile of a former Mason baseball player who has suffered dramatic injuries.

If you’re a frequent reader of C2M you may have noticed that I don’t write many “letters from the editor.” I prefer to keep my commentary out of the discussion and let the content speak for itself. But now that the year is ending I thought I would take a moment to reflect.

I am very proud of the C2M team for being nominated for the Online Pacemaker award by the Associated Collegiate Press earlier this spring. I hope you also found our content to be insightful and of high quality.

As any senior will most likely tell you, four years goes fast! I’m no exception and while the time felt like it flew by I know I was able to accomplish and partake in a lot of things during that time.

The unique part of being a student leader at a university is that you’re given limited amount of time to lead an organization. Once graduation comes, a new leader steps in and takes over. While it only gives the student leader a set amount of time to make an impact, I believe it’s a good thing that we get to pass on an organization to someone new after a short amount of time. This allows the organization to regularly experience new leaders with new ideas and new perspectives. It gives students the opportunity to partake in a variety of roles and gain beneficial experience.

Being a student leader and being part of a student organization is all about experience for the future. I know that the Office of Student Media has given me great experience for what I want to do after school.

Something I always recommend to freshmen is to get involved but to not spread yourself too thin. Find something that you’re passionate about and do the best job you can in your role.

I have tried to do the best job in this role, and what I can say is that I’m very proud of the team that we have formed at C2M and I’m proud of the content that we have produced.

Once again, I thank you for reading Connect2Mason this year and I hope you continue to follow all of the student media outlets at Mason next school year.

Best of luck and have a great summer!

Reuben Jones

rjone4@gmu.edu