I’ve been behind the scenes at The Scout for the past two years- designing the layout and the advertisements. But when I think about my college experience, the friends and memories I’ve made at The Scout will always be in the forefront of my mind.
I could tell you a lot of cliché things like how the past four years have been the best and scariest times of my life, or how I came into my own in college, but the truth is that I feel like my college career was a complete success.
I have made friends that I now consider family and had experiences that have shaped who I am and I truly feel like I’m prepared for the real world.
When I arrived at Bradley my freshman year, I quickly realized just how naïve I was. My peers all seemed to be a little more worldly and comfortable in their surroundings than I was.
It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I started to feel like Bradley was my home. I lived in Williams Hall with some of my favorite sorority sisters, Center Court was open until midnight and I realized who and what really mattered to me.
At the end of the year, I got hired at The Scout and found a seemingly random assembly of journalists would eventually become my favorite people.
I had never considered myself to be skilled in printed work because I work so much with computers. But I found that seeing my work as something tangible as opposed to thousands of pixels on a computer screen provided a new form of excitement.
Looking back on my arrival at Bradley, I remember feeling insecure about my nerdy interactive media skills; the people in my classes seemed to know so much more than I did.
After a few internships and seeing my work printed in The Scout week after week, I gained confidence and sense of pride for my work. I know now that interactive media is the field for me.
If it weren’t for the friends I’ve made along the way or the constant support from my amazing family, I don’t know if I would consider my college career to be such a success. These incredible people might not know or understand the impact that they’ve had on me, but they all made me want to be a better person, pushed me to be my best and proved to me that I can do anything I put my mind to.
The long nights in The Scout office filled with awkward talks, laughter to the point of tears and battles with print design software will forever be my favorite college memories. Thank you all for being my Scout family, I love you guys!
Kiley is the Scout design and advertising graphics editor. She is a senior Interactive Media major from Sleepy Hollow.
Direct questions, comments and other responses to klittle@mail.bradley.edu.
