Letter from the editor: Welcome to The Collegian

As featured in volume 111, issue 1 of The Collegian.

It’s funny how things change.

My freshman year in the fall of 2020, I was quarantined in my dorm room in Haury Hall after my roommate at the time tested positive for COVID-19. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, I found myself signing up for a wide variety of campus clubs — including The Bethel Collegian.

I had always been drawn to journalism. During the height of the lockdown, I channeled my energy into informational podcasting and was looking to try my hand at writing. So, trapped in a space the size of my bedroom back home, I joined the first Zoom meeting of the year for The Collegian. I listened as editors detailed the expectations for the first print edition dropping in two weeks. And at the end of the meeting, I immediately called my mom and made the common first-year mistake: "That's too much work."

I didn't return for the second meeting.

A year later, I decided to join that first meeting once again... and every meeting after that, this time. Then, I decided to pick up on freelance sports reporting around the area on top of my work with The Collegian — first with the Butler County Times-Gazette, then with the McPherson Sentinel. I honed my skills learning from Charles Chaney — who was awarded the Oscar Stauffer Sportswriter Award by the Kansas High School Activities Association in March — and other award-winning editors.

Brett Esch — Photo by Lindsey Pfannenstiel

But more importantly, I learned how to love meeting deadlines, worrying anxiously about the details, and most importantly, telling stories. And at the advice of my predecessor Bethany Powls and faculty advisor Christine Crouse-Dick, I threw my hat in the ring for Editor-in-Chief of The Collegian.

I pitched a vision of a transformative media vehicle that prioritizes three core values: Conversation, connection, and community. I proposed that The Collegian becomes a fixture in the Bethel College fabric that enhances what it means to be a Thresher — because anyone who's been around here long enough knows that it's the stories, the interactions, and the camaraderie that make Bethel a special place.

And now, our team of dedicated and talented editors, writers, and photographers is bringing this vision to life. With a renewed focus on establishing an online presence, we're bringing news to our readers at the quickest rate in The Collegian's history. And with a new print format, our tangible footprint is more reader-friendly than ever.

We're immersing ourselves in the Bethel community because that's where our work means the most — and our team couldn't feel more grateful nor more blessed to do so. That's why I thank you, our readers, for making what we do here at The Collegian worthwhile.

Happy reading, and Roll On.