Graphic by Ava Neely/Daily Collegian
Senior Columns 2023
The Collegian's graduating seniors reflect on their time at UMass
May 18, 2023
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG-5610-475x315.jpg)
“This paper has become my home, and I can’t bear to think about it,” writes Editor-in-Chief Saliha Bayrak.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/52781929054_dfbbc9b53f_c-356x475.jpg)
“This newspaper gave me purpose, and I hope the people after me feel that way too,” writes Managing Editor Joey Aliberti.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-02-at-3.01.55-PM-349x475.png)
“It’s okay to not know where I’m going — and now I know,” writes News Editor Ella Adams.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Lulu-1-356x475.jpg)
“The Collegian, like so many have said before, was my light; it was my constant,” writes Sports Editor Lulu Kesin.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/CatherineHurley_photo-1-317x475.jpg)
“I’d probably sacrifice my first-born child to use a pseudonym … at least I used to think so,” writes Op/Ed Editor Catherine Hurley.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/James-1-380x475.jpeg)
“Thanks for being a friend,” writes Head Arts Editor James Rosales.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/unnamed-433x475.jpg)
“If I never stop obsessing over the numbers, I hope at the very least I don’t keep letting them define me,” writes Video Editor Colin McCarthy.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Vera-1-475x475.jpeg)
“Follow your heart and follow us on Instagram,” writes Social Media Editor Vera Gold.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG-20221111-WA0005-1-475x356.jpg)
“I will miss this place and UMass so much, but I am truly proud of all I have done in my four years,” writes Assistant Op/Ed Editor Srija Nagireddy.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Molly-1-356x475.jpg)
“A whole lot of life is waiting. I’ve come to the conclusion that you can’t let it stop you from actually living,” writes Assistant Arts Editor Molly Hamilton.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_1884-475x356.jpeg)
“A good story is only as great as its cast, and I’ve been lucky to have such an amazing one standing with me,” writes DEI Coordinator Jarius Kidd.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/51548075655_efe8493db0_c-311x475.jpg)
Alex Genovese writes “thank you notes for one of the greatest gifts in the world.”
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/7D6A3624-9A08-4A0F-94D8-24C205EB5783-1-354x475.jpeg)
“This team is one that I will always be a part of, and it makes me truly proud to be a UMass Minuteman,” writes sports writer Scottie Marro.
![](https://dailycollegian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/IMG_8344-317x475.jpg)
Fall 2022 graduate and former Assistant News Editor Sofi Schlepakov wrote, “The bitter-sweet moment of it is knowing that I am the first to go, and that I am going to get to watch everyone succeed at the paper, but not get to be there in the moment.”