Senior Column — Kate Nixon

If someone told me my first semester on staff that I’d eventually become head photo editor, I would’ve laughed at them. Being on staff hasn’t only given me a slew of general life skills like how to compile a portfolio or how to create cut outs, but it’s brought me life-long friendships.

Being a photog is a unique and occasionally terrifying experience. Shooting games filled with your peers and taking student-life photos isn’t easy for someone like me who already has difficulty talking in front of large groups. It’s hard to focus on lighting and composition without your eyes straying to the classmates pointing at “the girl with the camera.”

These struggles are inevitable, but they’re the reason that I’m so close to the other people holding cameras on the soccer field at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night.

To the ‘togs — thank you for everything. I never thought I’d be the one leading you guys. You taught me how to be a leader and showed me that it was OK to yell at people sometimes (even if it wasn’t really yelling), because it’s important to remind people what this staff expects from them.

Thanks for sticking it out through our rough first semester, thanks for the endless laughs at deadline and most of all, thanks for always having each other’s backs. There was never a day I didn’t rant to at least one of you about my struggles with photo ideas or communication issues, but you always listened. I’ll miss our stairwell potlucks, conference room brainstorms and sideline chats at games while we were supposed to be shooting.

This is not the way we wanted to go out. When they announced the cancellation of school and spring sports, we all mourned the photos we wouldn’t be able to capture and the stories we wouldn’t share. But it makes me that much prouder when one of you steps up and shoots something so powerful and telling despite the pandemic-shaped obstacle standing in your way.

I’ve been a part of this family for the past three years, and I’ve loved every minute of it. From togsgiving to photo critiques, the community of photographers on this staff is unlike any other group I’ve been a part of before. The time, commitment and effort you all put in while still making it fun amazes me. I’ll miss all the tears at end-of-season games, the glares from game officials and deadline fiascos, but above all, I’ll miss the passion we share for photography. 

And to the freshmen I only got to spend a semester with but impressed me so much — I can’t wait to see all the award-winning photos you’ll take next year.