Senior Column — Reilly Moreland

It was a Wednesday night in January of my freshman year, and Harbinger’s head photo editors needed help transcribing interviews for a photostory.  Though I only knew a few people on staff, I was dropped off at East by my mom with the hope of learning a few names and figuring out how this whole newspaper thing worked. Although I stayed for only one hour while the cool, big league staffers stayed for a whopping six, I felt truly accomplished after transcribing just one interview. 

This was my first ever deadline.

As soon as I stepped into the car after being picked up, tears ran down my face. It might sound cheesy, but this was the moment I realized I loved Harbinger and the journalism community.

Since then, just about every other Wednesday night has been filled with Papa John’s cheese pizza and Price Chopper cookies. Every Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 10:30 to 11:20 a.m. was filled with laughs and cries in rooms 521 and 413B. And almost every Thursday was dedicated to a lunch party in the fifth floor side staircase.

When I decided to join Harbinger, I thought I would be learning the fundamentals: how to set my F-stop to have a perfectly lit picture, how to spot the rule of thirds anywhere I go and how to tell a story through just one click of a button. But now, reflecting back on my four years on staff, for all of the camera tips and tricks I learned, I learned so much more about my fellow staffers. 

For instance, Ryan Gossick possesses one of the funniest senses of humor and can easily send me to tears from laughing too hard. Or how the Paulus brothers have the absolute best British accents, no discussion. And how Kaleigh Koc can make my day brighter — even still, by sending me an invite to play Mancala on Game Pigeon despite being states away. And to this day, I still laugh looking through old pictures from in the iconic backroom with Annabelle Cook and Grace Padon.

To my tog babies, I expect nothing but amazing things from you guys. Learn to keep Megan on a leash (literally), and that Julia will probably need a hug once a day. Get your galleries done on time, and stay that extra quarter at a soccer game, even though it’s getting late and Chick-Fil-A is calling your name. Push out of your comfort zone and run across the gym for that one shot. I promise you, it will be worth it.

I love you Harbinger, thanks for all the mems.

Roast Club forever.