Writing this article is something that I never pictured myself doing because I simply never imagined this day would come. At first, when I joined The Tiger in the fall of 2022, I never thought I’d pick up the proverbial pen and write an article. Once I did, though, the day I would last contribute to this newspaper seemed so far away.
Somehow, the time has flown by, and, as of today, I have only two weeks left as a Clemson student. The single most defining part of my time here at Clemson has been my work at The Tiger.
As soon as I made my decision and confirmed my enrollment at Clemson University three springs ago, I knew I wanted to join The Tiger. One of the very first events I went to as a student was The Tiger’s fall interest meeting. When I shared my plans with friends and family, they were a little confused. Everyone knew I wanted to go into publishing and had no interest in journalism. As I have repeated countless times over the last three years, “The Tiger would give me editorial experience I can put on my resume for future jobs!”
Little did I know that my time at The Tiger would become so much more than a simple resume booster.
By October of my freshman year, I was a copy editor on our Senior Staff, and beginning that November, the copy chief. At the time of my election, I was the only person in the section. Watching the Copy desk grow from just me to almost 10 regular contributors has been incredibly rewarding.
As copy chief, I began to form stronger relationships with the other members of leadership and the rest of our staff. By my sophomore year, The Tiger was no longer just a footnote on my resume; it consumed my time at Clemson. Never was this more evident than in my last year serving as editor-in-chief.
Having the opportunity to lead this organization is something I never predicted. At the bottom of my heart, I certainly hoped to be on our executive leadership team, but I saw myself climbing only as high as Associate Editor. While I might not have foreseen this role, guiding this paper, teaching new members and learning alongside my staff has been one of the most difficult but rewarding things I have ever done.
I don’t know who I would be without The Tiger. This newspaper has brought me some of my closest, lifelong friends at Clemson, opened new doors for me and given me enough stress and anxiety for several lifetimes. Despite everything, though, I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my time at Clemson in any other way than continuing to support the paper that has roared for Clemson since 1907.
Caroline Block is a senior English major from Mobile, Alabama. Caroline can be reached at [email protected].
