Think about the moment that made you who you are. You know, the phrase or person that made you work toward something that was bigger than yourself. Maybe, it was something like “you got this,” or “everything will be fine.” Maybe, you just needed to think about all the decisions and moments that led you to the point where you are now.

For me, the phrase that shaped me into the person that I am today was “maybe one day you can be Editor-in-Chief.”

I laughed a little. I thought: I still can’t even understand English grammar, how am I supposed to lead a newspaper?

But the more I became involved in The Current Sauce, the more I wanted to do more. I took the phrase and let it guide me. It became my goal to be the editor and to see where I could take the organization.

The past year I’ve had the honor to represent and lead The Current Sauce. We are the official student newspaper for Northwestern State University of Louisiana, and for those who don’t know, this is my second year as Editor-in-Chief.

If you would have asked 18-year-old Lia if she thought she’d be a leader, she would have looked at you crazy. Never in a million years would I have imagined myself as the editor, much less to be able to do it for two years.

This organization has done so much for me that saying, “thank you,” feels like a severe understatement. It taught me how to write, report, connect, build contacts and a home at NSU.

Being the editor of The Current Sauce has been a dream — sometimes stressful — but a dream.

I had the most amazing staff last year that made my first year as editor very successful. Because of those members, we won awards, increased our social media following on campus, started a newsletter, increased the number of editions we publish and created a whole new section on our website. They listened to me with every crazy or spur-of-the-moment idea I had and went along with it. I will be forever grateful to those members for making my first year as editor better than I could have imagined.

Of course, the year wasn’t perfect. We had missed deadlines, we didn’t write a lot of breaking news, had to move events around, we didn’t take all the photos we wanted, occasional spelling errors or simply didn’t get to write all the stories we wanted and should have. I’m not a perfect leader, and I’m still trying to better myself, so the newspaper continues to get better. If at any moment you noticed these shortcomings, I want to say I’m sorry. I take all the responsibility, but unlike other editors I have a chance to make it better. Feel free to reach out to me by email ([email protected]) or come by my office in Kyser Hall room 227 and let me know what you’d like to see in the paper. I’d love to meet and listen to you.

This is the last year The Current Sauce has me. Writing that previous sentence was very emotional. I can’t imagine not being able to be a part of this organization anymore after next spring, and as corny as it sounds The Current Sauce is who I am.

Granted, by next semester I’ll probably be ready to graduate, but I truly am bonded and committed to this newspaper. (I’m fully aware I sound dramatic, just let me be dramatic for a second).

Student media has given me the opportunity to get to know the person I want to be. It has connected me to so many people around the state and allowed me to know NSU and Natchitoches more.

It has given me mentors like our Student Media Coordinator Matthew Craig — if it weren’t for him, I don’t know if I would have made it this far. Additionally, the Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts has also constantly shown their support for The Current Sauce. Thank you to all the professors in the department who answered my questions or helped me with the newspaper. I’m truly lucky to have been taught by all of you.

To all the other faculty, staff, students or advisers on campus that have helped me, thank you.

This year I hope to bring more stories to The Current Sauce. I want to improve our look, increase our readership, include more advertisements and involve more submitted pieces into the newspaper. This newspaper is the platform for students and including as many different voices as we can is a goal I will prioritize this year.

But I can’t do it without your help.

Submit whatever story ideas you have or any news tips you have even if it’s anonymous. Do you want us to feature an organization? Let us know and we’d be happy to make time to write the story. Do you want to send a story? Feel free to send it to me or [email protected]. Do you have an advertisement you’d like to share? Contact us and we can discuss pricing for those in the Natchitoches community or we’ll share it for free if you’re a Recognized Student Organization.

I want The Current Sauce to be your trusted news source. So, help me make you a part of our paper.

This is my last year as your editor, and I know whoever comes next will be even better than me.

For now, I want to make sure I get to prioritize you, the reader, before I leave. To my team members this fall and to those in the spring, I’m so excited to work with all of you and to make this my best year yet. I apologize in advance if I stress you out — I stress myself out — but your work and dedication will not go unnoticed.

Thank you for reading and I hope you continue to read our stories.

Here’s to my last year leading The Current Sauce.