Christian Gooley: The impact that came from the mentorship I had over my four years on Harbinger. Harbinger also opened my eyes to more than just my interest

After four years, 56 issues, hundreds of hours in the J-Room and an unthinkable amount of “five minutes” by Tate, the time has finally come. I sit here one final Sunday night staring at my computer struggling to find the right words to wrap up my entire Harbinger experience. 

Looking back, I immediately think of one day: my first ads day. 14-year-old freshman me was on cloud nine about making the staff, I was excited for any Harbinger event. So when Catherine, my head editor at the time, approached me on my second week on staff to tell me I was required to sell ads on a Saturday at 10 a.m., I was all in. 

There was just one small problem: I couldn’t drive.

I sat in the main room brainstorming for 30 minutes, my mind racing for a solution that didn’t involve going into the back room and begging an upperclassman for a ride. But sadly, that became my reality.

The upperclassmen left me with two options: Catherine takes me herself (no thanks) or I carpool with a group of sophomores.

I thank those sophomores to this day for being kind enough to drive me. What I thought was going to be a terrifying day due to my illusion that my head editor was scary turned into my first and favorite Harbinger memory — going to Brookside to sell ads and then to Waldo Pizza for a rewarding lunch.

That day changed my entire view of Harbinger. Maybe the upperclassmen weren’t that scary, maybe they actually did want to help. I followed those same sophomores Peyton Moore, Anna Mitchell and Paige Zadoo for the next two years, becoming their friends and watching them become the “scary” editors themselves. 

Without that day I think I might’ve always been terrified of editors or scared to go into the back room. I loved Harbinger more than I could’ve ever imagined from that point on. 

From messing with Tate whenever I could to asking him a thousand questions because I was lost, he never failed to teach me something and showed me the true importance of every story. 

I’m forever thankful for the memories and life lessons I gained from my time on Harbinger, no matter how many times I thought about crying at deadline.