It took me a while to find my niche here at USM, but in the end, it made all the difference in my ‘college experience’.
When I arrived at USM in the frigid winter of my sophomore year, Gorham’s weekly ultimate frisbee game was my main outlet. Trudging to Costello amid the blowing banks of snow, and then running myself ragged amongst some of the school’s foremost cross-country athletes was a satisfying way to unwind and get away from my desk for a couple hours.
When spring sprung, I was roped into signing up with the USM Sailin’ Fightin’ Huskies at the urging of a roommate, and was soon humming through Casco Bay with some of the most dedicate and hardy students I have met to date. It takes a special kind of crazy to want to suit up in waterproof gear and brave the elements in late March, but these kids had it.
Accepting of any level of experience-so long as they were committed-the sailing teams taught me the value of teamwork as I learned to sync my rocking rhythm with that of my skipper to ensure that we both didn’t end up taking a dip in the grey, choppy water of the Atlantic.
These two activities were a great way get involved in new things on campus, and meet new people, and I found that if you show up with the right attitude, and a spirit of commitment, you’ll find yourself welcomed into any group with open arms.
This proved to be especially true with my next-and current-attempt at student involvement, at The Free Press.
Walking into the office on Bedford Street in my junior year, i was greeted by a sense of chaos, infused with humor, and just a splash of insanity. I felt as if I had stumbled upon my academic soul mates, a group of who were insanely committed to their cause; so much so that they spent every Saturday night cloistered away in the cozy second-floor office to give the university it’s paper of record.
I’m not sure exactly what I was getting into, but certain of my desire to be involved, I jumped right in to the position of news editor, an intimidating prospect that was made less so by the calming presence and tenacious work ethic of former executive editor Sarah Trent.
The job was taxing, a little stressful, and I had more than a few drowsy, dreamlike drives back to Gorham at 1 a.m. after a 12-hour workday, but it was all worth it for the sense of purpose I got in the job.
Looking back on that first semester at the paper these days, I realize that without the sense of community that I got from being involved at The Free Press, I might not have been able to stay at USM-which had been my third attempt at finding the right school.
That brings us to tonight, Sunday, my last production day at the paper. Call it nostalgia, sappiness, or the mind-blowing prospect of being able to watch football again, but I would have to say that this newspaper has done more in defining my college experience than anything else I have been involved in.
The Free Press has been a learning, working classroom; a never-ending buffet of junk food, a journalistic frat house, and everything in between. The people I’ve met working here are among the most driven and inspiring people you could hope to encounter at the University, and I would not trade the hours spent reading and re-reading my fellow journalists work for anything.
I only hope that every USM student-who has the time and passion to get involved-can find something that is as fulfilling to them as this newspaper has been for me.
Best of luck to incoming executive editor Dan MacLeod, arts editor Lura DeSorbo, sports editor Joel Neill and production editor Randy Hazelton. And thanks to all those who have been involved in the paper at every level, I don’t know how or why you do it sometimes, but I appreciate it.
Thanks for reading,
Matt Dodge