In my years at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, the first question people ask when I mention that I work at this newspaper has always been some version of asking what I’ve written. The conversation that follows is usually an explanation of my work in photography and photojournalism, and I always find some humor in the fact that I’ve spent so much time in a newsroom and the only pieces of writing that I’ve done are captions of photos in the Collegian’s Flickr, and emails inquiring about press credentials.

So now, I’ve been sitting here for a good while trying to spin together the words to articulate just how much my time at this newspaper has meant to me.

I’m in my fifth year of college, and in those five years –– from being dual degree student, as well as pursuing two academic minors and a handful of extracurriculars –– the Collegian has been the one constant, year after year. At the start of my first semester, which was in the fall of 2019, I discovered the Collegian during a tabling event for incoming freshmen while I was looking for another club, almost by accident.

That semester, I began attending the weekly photos meetings in the Collegian’s old office, in the basement of the Campus Center, and each week I’d walk to a new event with my camera. Immediately, I found purpose in the organization, and developed a deep appreciation for the outlet it gave me to practice and develop my photography skills.

Today, I’m at the end of my tenth semester at the University of Massachusetts. In my last weeks of classes, I’ve been part of the team of Collegian staff following a series of protests and encampments that are part of a larger wave of pro-Palestine protests and encampments. Watching the events of the protests and subsequent arrests and trying to document every detail through my camera lens feels, in a weird, dystopian way, like a culmination of what the Collegian has taught me. I’m not a journalism major, but I do study studio art –– and the skills of photography, visual composition and visual storytelling that I learn about in my art classes have greatly informed all the work I do at the Collegian.

In studying art, I often find myself questioning what I’m doing or how my art practice fits into the world, or how I can take the skills I’ve learned and apply them in a meaningful way. But the Collegian, and the opportunity to practice photojournalism, have given me an answer to these questions, and there are no words that I can come up with to properly represent the gratitude I feel towards the experiences that the Collegian has given me.

So, thank you to everyone who has influenced my time at the Collegian. From the people who made the paper into what it was when I started my time here, and allowed me to begin the work that I have grown so passionate about, to the people who I have worked alongside up until the end of my time here –– I am so proud and grateful to be able to call you my colleagues. I am beyond grateful for everything the Collegian has given me, and I am beyond proud of the work I have done as part of this newspaper.

Kira Johnson was the Head Photos Editor. She can be reached at [email protected].