The English language consists of close to one million words, and during my time at “The Outlook,” I have used a plethora of them. From “protest” to “achievement,” “shame” to “success,” I have covered 34 news stories that have occurred on this campus and contributed 76 articles to the paper in total.
I have always loved to write. I never cared what it was, just as long as I could create something by rearranging a set of words in a certain order. My writing portfolio contains poetry, prose, fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, plays, and now, after my time with “The Outlook,” journalism.
Journalism was never my first passion, and it wasn’t even English; it was always film. My whole life, I have been spewing useless behind-the-scenes film facts, ever since I was a little girl and my dad showed me all of his favorite movies that were not appropriate for my age (“Pulp Fiction” being one). I spent my time before Monmouth in NJ Film School’s screenwriting classes and loved it immensely. But when I came to Monmouth, I left that behind and decided to study Education, stupidly, following the crowd of choosing a major that will guarantee you a job out of college.
I came to Monmouth as an English education major, and there is no other word to use than “hate.” So when I decided to prioritize my happiness and study something that made me not miserable, I chose English and creative writing with a minor in film, a non-traditional way to tighten up my screenplays and become the best writer I could be. To get more writing in about film, I decided to become a contributing writer for “The Outlook” to review and discuss the movies I loved.
Two days after I dropped education and decided to focus more on my film reviews, I received a message from our then Entertainment editor– and little would I know, one of my now best friends– Gabrielle Sangataldo, offering me the position as she became Editor-in-Chief, and little did I know it would become one of the happiest decisions of my life.
Since then, I have not thought about education once (Until writing this goodbye). All I knew was writing, movies, and editing, and there was no other word to explain how I felt than “happy,” and when Gabrielle asked me to become Editor-in-Chief and News Editor after she left, there were truly no words to describe that feeling. I had finally found my calling.
I would be lying if I said my time here at “The Outlook” didn’t come with many challenges. The time this position requires is no joke, and I wish more people understood and appreciated what we do here. My team and I put our blood, sweat, and tears into this paper, and I am eternally grateful for their dedication. Without them, “The Outlook” would not be what it is today.
This journey was not easy, but I am so grateful I did not have to do it alone. To anyone who has ever helped me, thank you, but specifically:
To Kristen Frawley and Brian Silva, the two best friends a girl could ask for. Thank you for listening to my endless rants about campus politics and keeping my spirits high on those Tuesdays that felt like the day would never end.
To my parents, Sandy and Neal Memoli, the people who believed in me long before I ever knew what I wanted to do with my life. I love you both endlessly.
To Dr. Courtney Werner, my amazing advisor, who guided me through this journey at Monmouth. Always a friendly face waiting for me whenever I needed help with anything. For our advising meeting, where we would talk about anything and everything, and sometimes actual advising.
To Dr. Marina Vujnovic and Tarra Emery, the two people always willing to help me with whatever I needed and provided me with friendly and comforting faces on that craziest of days.
To Bailey Fredericks. My partner in crime thought out this whole journey (and partner in Porta and Jmacs). You were the best partner I could have ever dreamed of through this journey, and I thank you for putting up with my crazy ideas and (sorry) last-minute article coverage whenever I needed it.
And lastly, I want to thank my mentor on this journey, and someone I am so happy to still call my friend to this day. Gab, when you asked me to be the Entertainment editor of this paper it was truly one of the happiest days of my life. Since then, I have fallen in love with journalism, and that is all thanks to you. You taught me everything I know, like, no joke. And you still put up with my question from beyond the bounds of the Monmouth University campus, and I will forever be grateful to you for believing in me. I am proud ot call myself a student journalist and it is all because of you.
And with that, I will see you all in the movies. To all of our readers and the people who believed in this crazy journey I am on, I want my last word (or words) ever printed in this amazing paper to be this: Thank you.
