By Murphy Obershaw, A&E Editor
It’s wild to think that I’ve been at Newman for four years, and in a week, my time here will be over.
The feeling of, “Oh crap, I’m graduating” didn’t really hit me until our English department graduate party on Friday. When I got back to my dorm after the party, I was filled with anxiety.
I just feel like I’ve been so busy this semester that I haven’t had a chance to mentally prepare myself for leaving.
There are still things that I want to do in Wichita, people I want to hang out with and people I want to say goodbye to.
While I can’t give myself more time to mentally prepare for leaving, I can give myself a second to reflect on my time at Newman.
I feel very blessed for the time I had working as a campus minister, especially when our namesake, John Henry Newman, was canonized a saint.
From the retreats to game night to four o’clock poetry, it’s been a great time. Shout out to Emily Simon and Father Adam Grelinger for not judging me for being extra all the time.
Out of all the majors I could have chosen, I’m glad I chose English. There really is no other place I would have rather studied English at than Newman.
I will never forget our English department trips to the Nimrod Conference for Readers & Writers. Shout out to Susan Crane who brought snacks to class and offered me a cup of tea whenever I was stressed.
I’m glad that I was able to get involved with Open Mic as a presenter and eventually an emcee (shout out to my co-emcee Matthew Clark who will keep this event going next year). Listening to everyone share their art was a wholesome experience.
Getting the chance to be published in “Coelacanth” and help put it together as a poetry editor and then as editor-in-chief was a stressful but amazing experience that I am so glad to have been a part of. Thank you to everyone who submitted to “Coelacanth” and those who helped edit it.
And of course, where would I be if I didn’t write for the Vantage? Not writing this article right now. But on a more serious note, when I started writing for the Vantage, I would be filled with delight just by seeing something I had written published in a newspaper week after week.
I’m grateful that former Editor-In-Chief Courtney Klaus let me join as a writer and then promoted me to a copy editor and then A&E Editor.
Shout out to the Vantage Adviser Denise Neil for being so chill and letting me bother her all the time about not only Vantage issues but also life issues. Denise is also the one who named Cole Schnieders, Madeline Alvarez and me the Catholic Triumvirate. It’s like she knew that we would all become best friends before we knew it.
Cole and Maddie, I love you guys and will miss you so much. Out of all the people I could have accidentally tried out for a Shakespeare play with in the middle of a pandemic and still have a newspaper and literary magazine to edit, I’m glad it was you two. I’m so proud of us for all we’ve accomplished together and separately. Trying to do college during a pandemic has been terrible, but we survived.
It’s been wonderful being in the editing room these past two years. Editors, you all are wonderful and are a fun group to be around. We’ve worked hard putting together a good newspaper, and I’m proud of us. Also, thank you for always being willing to listen to all of my weird life problems.
As I leave, know that even if you didn’t get a shout, I appreciate you and your contribution to my time at Newman. I’ll miss you.
Goodbye, Newman University. And as always: GO JETS!
PHOTO: Courtesy Photo, Catherine Madison
