New beginnings

And if I’m going to be honest, one of the key factors in my decision to enroll in journalism the following year was that I would have Mr. Raisner in my schedule again. I wanted to learn more from him, this time as a journalism adviser.

Over the next three years, journalism became one of the most important, if not the most important, parts of my life. Every day, I spent hours in the newsroom at Carlmont, the newsroom at the Daily Journal, or both. I sacrificed hours of sleep and free time to go above and beyond my responsibilities to write an extra article, take another photo, edit a feature story or develop lesson plans for the class. I’d like to thank Carlmont’s journalism program for giving me a purpose in high school. Journalism made me eager to come to school every day.

Thank you, Mr. Raisner, for giving me a direction. Thank you for showing me what I want to pursue in the future and for showing me the importance of reporting. Thank you for always pushing the boundaries of my abilities, for setting high expectations for my writing, editing and leadership, and for providing me with a place where I always felt important and safe, no matter what. I would not be who I am without your support and friendship.

To Jon and the Daily Journal staff, I’d like to thank you for always greeting me with a smile, and for showing me how a real-life newsroom functions. It was an invaluable experience that I will never forget, and it has solidified that journalism is a career I wish to pursue. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to write monthly columns for Student News, where I was able to write for a larger audience than I was ever able to inside my journalism program at Carlmont, and where I could write about my own experiences and opinions. This internship has been more than just another job to me, and journalism is more than just another hobby of mine.

During my time at the Daily Journal, I worked in the newsroom every Tuesday, editing letters to the editor, processing calendar events, and sorting through other important messages. Simultaneously, I also worked on these monthly columns that I have grown so fond of writing. Beyond these responsibilities as an intern, however, I’d like to thank Jon for giving me the opportunity to have my photography displayed not once, but twice on the front page of two editions. Photojournalism is a field I am particularly interested in, and to have my work displayed to so many people was incredible.

Journalism is and always will be an important part of my life. This may be a “goodbye” to the Daily Journal and the incredible people I have met here, but it is by no means an end to my work as a journalist. At the University of California, Berkeley, I intend to pursue a degree in business or economics with a minor degree in journalism. I also hope to work on the Daily Californian in my free time.

This is simply a new beginning for my career as a journalist, and I am so appreciative of everyone who has helped me reach this point in my life.

Connor Lin is a recent graduate of Carlmont High School in Belmont. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.