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The 20th issue of the Future this summer marks the end of my run as the editor-in-chief of this college publication.
This sports writer weathered the storm in the dog days of summer.
I will be the first to say that running a college paper is a difficult task and a stressful one at that. Regardless, I learned many lessons overseeing the Future.
Nothing always goes according to plan in a newsroom. Getting frustrated was not uncommon for me, particularly when you’re trying to put the best possible product together and not everything goes correctly, but it was still an incredible experience.
I entered this summer with limited knowledge of overseeing an editorial staff and making sure that we finished on deadline on each production day.
Looking back at my time as editor-in-chief, I grew as an individual and led a staff in covering the UCF campus and surrounding areas.
At the Future I worked up the ladder for nearly two years to get to where I am now. From being a sports writer, covering a wide variety of UCF athletics, I stepped outside my comfort zone and took on a big responsibility.
I have written more than 200 articles, an accomplishment I am very proud of. I consistently produced content for the sports section and was given the opportunity to run a student paper, an accomplishment in its own. It is a decision I don’t regret, even though I was nervous to apply for the job.
These past three months are moments that helped define who I am and what I will become.
Writing for the Future opened the door to sports writing, a passion that cannot be described.
That door has led to great writing opportunities in the fall.
This fall I will be taking my talents to Bright House Network Stadium, covering the 2010 football season — cue the boo birds — in addition to hosting a sports talk radio show on Knightcast.
My journey with the Future almost didn’t happen. I e-mailed then-sports editor Padrick Brewer in the fall of 2008 with my interests of writing for his section. I never got a reply and was discouraged by it. I don’t know what it was, but I decided to give it another try in January 2009 and finally began writing.
If not for contacting Brewer again, I don’t think I’d be where I am now. Through writing for the Future, I met a great cast of people and have become good friends with many of the staffers, both past and present. I have covered various UCF sports teams and each is unique in their own way.
Before applying to be editor-in-chief, I had my doubts. I’m glad that I shook off those reservations I had and took a job with so much responsibility, especially one where your decision-making is critiqued on a daily basis and how you do is seen by the entire campus.
I would like to thank my staff, adviser, general manager and, of course, my family and friends. They have always encouraged me to follow my dreams.
After three months of running a school paper, it’s time to return to my passion and that is sports writing. The sports world is always changing and it is up to us writers to change along with the times and provide the best possible coverage.
On that note, I leave you, the readers, with a quote I used in my farewell as the sports editor my senior year in high school at Pembroke Pines Charter High.
Only Truman Burbank could sum it up so well.
“Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.”
Carlos Pineda has left the building.
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