 "Photo: The Olympian")
This is it. These are my last words to Olympic College after years of serving the campus in one way or another.
Honestly, I didn’t think I would be sad or at all taken aback by my departure, but the emotions have recently settled in.
My sentiment for what OC has meant to me these passed years finally hit me at the Student Award Ceremony during the photo slide show.
It reminded me of talking with Jon Bowers, current student body president, about this same time last year when we realized that him and I, who have been good friends for a little while, would be running the student government and the newspaper in our final year at OC.
We had said how we wanted to make our mark on the campus, really put ourselves out there for students and just have a really good time before we departed 1600 Chester Ave.
After seeing the pictures of my fellow Rangers at barbecues, dancing in the Bremer Student Center, dressed in Halloween costumes and just hanging out around campus, I realized ‘this is it, it’s finally over.’
Thanks to Mike Prince and his very enthusiastic way of encouraging his students, I volunteered to write for The Olympian. I had no idea I would eventually be in charge of the entire paper and be accompanied by other amazing student journalists who would take this newspaper to the top of collegiate news in Washington state.
The encouragement of my editors in those early days led me to become one of the best college news writers in the state, and brought about some memories that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
When I started as a reporter, I had never been snowboarding, never walked through Time Square, never sang in a band or had my photos shown on the evening news.
But because of amazing and unpredictable opportunities I now have the bruises from Stevens Pass to prove I’ve slid down a mountain. I have pictures of me screaming Sublime lyrics in the BSC to a crowd of Bremerton’s rowdiest punk rockers, and New York City souvenirs that aren’t worth the money I paid for them but I’ll never throw them away.
Being a part of this paper has also introduced me to nearly every person who works on this campus, from the nighttime security guard to the president of the college and even the board members who oversee the entire college.
Each one of them has encouraged me to continue the long road of a college education.
But in the end, it all comes back to those students in the pictures that night at the award ceremony. The way we come together in the BSC with the help of free food and some upbeat music every once and awhile is amazing.
Unlike any other environment I’ve been in, OC students seem to effortlessly discard whatever labels they have that would usually separate them, and are able to simply enjoy being in college.
It’s true that many times it’s hard to get students involved in most of the activities on campus, and turnout is not always as good as some of us would like to see it.
But even the apathetic reader will have to admit that there were times when the entire BSC seemed wrapped in a festive atmosphere.
I’ll always remember dancing with Stephanie Peterson and Toni Hartsfield to karaoke and KUBE 93 disc jockeys. Also, watching Nathan Perry and Preston Bennett getting into a break dance battle at the Valentine’s Day event was definitely a highlight of the year for me.
Watching students duck their heads in fear as Bowers and I carelessly threw the Frisbee in front of the doors of the BSC will always be a proud memory as well.
Thank you Spencer Stark for supporting The Olympian, but even more importantly for supporting the insane idea of having a Nerf battle in the gym. Sorry to all of you foam dart snipers who never got a second chance to annihilate your classmates with toys.
Thank you Nat Hong for being an advocate for free speech in the days when the news paper tried to push the bounds of what is appropriate collegiate newspaper content.
Security deserves a major pat on the back for not calling the authorities when a few of my fellow Olympians and I stormed through the BSC in an attempt to strike a Nerf attack on the student government.
Which reminds me, I apologize to the staff on the second floor of the Humanities and Student Services Building. You may not know this, but that same posse may have pillaged food from you, but I’m not going to name any names.
Honestly, there are so many people I would like to thank and memories I would like to share, but there is not enough space in this paper to do so.
As I said, this is it. Jon “Mother Fucking” Miller signing off.
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