I’m not an emotional person, but entering my last semester in college and as Editor-in-Chief has me feeling nostalgic.

I started at The Badger Herald as a freshman looking for a community and a way to distinguish my voice amid 42,000 others. My first article I was thrown into a city meeting where I had no idea what was going on. Somehow, my first article made it front page, above the fold — and I was hooked.

The first thing I did was email my article halfway across the world to my grandfather who was battling cancer. From the beginning, the Herald has given me an outlet. Whether it was a way to get my mind off personal struggles, or a way to spotlight the frustrating inefficiencies around campus and local government — the Herald has helped shape my voice.

In the fall, the Herald transitioned to a weekly, tabloid product. Now as we continue to build off the success of our transition, we’ve expanded nearly every section at the Herald. We’re welcoming additional Features, Banter, Opinion and Arts editors, who will all be working hard to give you even more coverage of student issues.

This semester, one of my directives to staff is accountability. We are placing an increased focus on investigative stories and following up with people and making sure they are owning up to their promises — whether that’s our student government, campus administration or elected officials. It’s a charge I feel is even more important in an election year.

You can continue to expect our daily coverage online, long-form stories weekly in print, more multimedia projects and as always, more snark.

The Herald can be your outlet — if you’re looking to write, take photos, make videos or graphics or even code, stop by our new members meetings every Thursday in February. You can also contact me at [email protected].