The Collegian is Where I Was Able to Grow and Learn

When I first walked into the news room here at Hutchinson Community College, I was absolutely petrified. Brad Hallier, both my academic advisor and the faculty advisor for The Hutchinson Collegian, later told me that I looked like a baby deer in the headlights.

I was the youngest in that room, hadn’t even turned 18 yet. I walked straight to the back of the room and sat down, hiding behind one of the iMacs, just trying to take up as little space as humanly possible.

I grew up in a small town, going to a school where I’d known everyone since I was 3 or 4. I felt completely out of my depth, like the runt of a tadpole knot in the biggest pond known to man.

Little did I know, The Hutchinson Collegian and the people in that room and the people who would later come into that room would change me as a person.

Through the journalism department here at HutchCC, I’ve learned so much about who I am as a person.

At my small town highschool I feel like I was shoe-horned into a role, the tiny girl with a big mouth who had a lot of opinions. I eventually learned that to fit in there, I needed to learn to bite my tongue and blend in.

Yet at HutchCC, I found that I could be who I was, full-heartedly and full-fledged, and still be valued and appreciated. I found that people cared about what I had to say and they listened.

I met people, both fellow journalists and the people who I interviewed for any of the stories I wrote, who have changed my life.

I’ve laughed with these people, teared up with these people, went through some pretty rough shit with these people. Through it all, they loved me for me.

I learned how to be a better leader, a better friend, a better listener, and so much more all through my time as a journalist for HutchCC. I learned that I’m capable of so much more than I ever thought was possible.

I learned how to be a more authentic, lively version of myself.

I’m not saying it was all easy.

There have been some low times throughout my college journey. However, the highs outnumber the lows tenfold.

Yet, I wouldn’t change anything about my experience. Everything I went through, that I experienced, further shaped me into becoming who I am today.

Without The Hutchinson Collegian, I don’t know if I would be the girl I am today.

Without Brad, Greta Klein, Carly Thompson, Sam Ojeda, Kai Spahr, Lizzie Kipp, every other Collegian writer and photographer, and every single person who agreed to speak with me throughout my time here, I would never be who I am now.

So I just want to say, thank you. Thank you for shaping me. Thank you for coming along this crazy journey that has been my tenure with the Collegian.

I never could’ve done it without you.

And while my time here at HutchCC is coming to an end, I know that this isn’t goodbye. I know that I have made bonds and relationships here that will last a lifetime.

So for now, let’s just say, see you later Blue Dragons.

Jolie Shultz is a Hutchinson sophomore studying journalism. She is the Collegian’s Editor in Chief.

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