Loquitur carved my path in life

Looking back on my four years at Cabrini, one of my biggest accomplishments and the project that I spent the most time on was being a part of the Loquitur staff. I spent three years writing for and designing Cabrini’s paper and that experience shaped me into the person I am today. Without CabriniCom and the people and professors that make it what it is, my time at Cabrini would have been a completely different journey, included different people, and wouldn’t have carved my path into who I am now.

I give all of my appreciation and gratitude to JZ [Cabrini professor Dr. Jerry Zurek] for pushing me to become editor-in-chief. He saw something in me that I couldn’t see in myself at the time; not only knowing I would be a good fit for the position, but also that I would enjoy doing it along the way. I started my sophomore year as a staff writer; a small fish in a big pond. I quickly found my way up the ladder, ultimately becoming editor-in-chief and graphic designer of the newspaper. I loved the work I was doing so much that by the end of completing my required credits, I found myself coming back to work for the Loquitur my senior year.

No matter how many extracurriculars I added to my daily schedule, Loquitur was always a constant and something I couldn’t give up. The professors taught me more than I could have imagined and gave me experience I will never forget. It was one aspect of college I can truly say I came out of with more knowledge than before and one that helped me feel confident in my current job and wherever my path takes me next.

Our lives are formed by the decisions we make every day. Our choices follow us through life. This string of decisions may get long at times, but ultimately ends when we are where we are supposed to be. I always think back on those times in my life when I could have taken one path versus another and how the choice I ended up making, led me to where I am. Something as small as taking a required journalism class to graduate led me to become editor-in-chief, which led me to take a job running two newspapers. These are all things I didn’t think I would ever want in life, and all because of one past decision.

The Loquitur was my “influential event.” It was one of the stepping stones that will contribute to my legacy. It gave me confidence in who I am and in my work. It gave me the opportunity to grow my skill set in journalism and graphic design, as well as enhanced my leadership and managing skills. I can apply these traits every day at my current job and will continue to do the same throughout my future. I will take every experience from the Loquitur with me throughout the rest of my life and if I’m lucky, hopefully get a couple more of these influential events to form me into the person I am meant to become.

The decisions I made in college impacted who I was then, who I am now, and who I will be forever. I graduated from Cabrini University with two degrees: communication and education. Just as I was always pulled back to Loquitur then, I am still being pulled back to communication now. I found a sweet spot between both majors and am currently running a school newspaper. I am teaching your average school subjects on top of two separate school newspapers. Loquitur has given me the ability to take the skills I learned to teach younger generations communication and hopefully help them find their passions like CabriniCom helped me find mine.

Loquitur showed me aspects of communication that I never thought I would enjoy doing, impacted my moments spent at Cabrini, and gave me a new perspective on life. Although my path is far from finished and I can’t know for sure where I will be in a year or five, I do know that the Loquitur gave me a passion for communication I can never steer away from.