I wasn’t supposed to be at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for all four years. I was going to transfer to Boston University after a year.
I came into UMass thinking I would do just one year before taking my guaranteed transfer offer with BU. This all changed for me when I stepped into the Massachusetts Daily Collegian office in the Student Union.
My one dream going into college was to cover college hockey, which I thought was impossible as a freshman going to a school that was coming off of a National Championship.
After going up to the then-Sports Editor Lulu Kesin and volunteering to be on the field hockey beat and having a lengthy conversation with Colin McCarthy about college hockey, the dream didn’t seem so impossible.
At the first field hockey game I covered, Lulu offered me a spot on the hockey beat alongside Colin and Sophie Weller. While she gave me a few days to think about it, I knew right then and there that I was going to take it.
Over that season I would have new experiences, interviewing top college players and head coaches. I also found new mentors in Colin and Sophie who I still credit for my love and passion for journalism.
One of the people I credit the most for how I conduct myself in press conferences is head coach Greg Carvel. He’s one of the only head coaches I know that has made it a point to challenge student media to be better and push us to ask the best questions.
Hockey Sports Information Director Jillian Jakuba has also been such a large part of my time with the Daily Collegian. Always willing to give the hockey beat media when we need it and supporting us, she’s one of the people I will miss the most.
While covering events like the Hockey East Championship, the NCAA Tournament and going to places like Belfast, Northern Ireland will be some of my fondest memories, the relationships I built will be some of the biggest things I’ll take away from the Daily Collegian.
Walking into the press box and seeing Colin, Sophie, Sydney Ciano, Matt Skillings, Scottie Marro, Caroline Burge, Devin Lippman and Mike Maynard every week was always fun. Win or lose, I knew that after the game, there would not be a dull moment.
Sitting with them shaped my writing and made me a better journalist in my four years. I know that no matter where I go in the world, I have lifelong friends in all of them.
Sitting in the cold Earl Lorden Field stands with Mike and Owen Shelffo or sitting in the heat at Gladchuk Field Complex with Lucy Postera will also be some of my fondest memories.
A majority of my time at UMass was spent in the Daily Collegian office behind the Student Union stairs. Through that, I built friendships with people from other sections and built stronger relationships with the people in the sports section.
Johnny Depin is someone I know I’ll always be friends with, with our friendship dating back to freshman year. Our handshake and trips to the dining hall won’t be forgotten.
I don’t know where my sports career will take me, but no matter what, the Daily Collegian will always be a part of me.
Four years, over 160 stories, six features, four NCAA Tournaments and 18 hockey rinks later (19 if you count Fenway Park), I’m prepared for a career in sports.
While there have been times where I think about what would have happened if I did leave UMass, I know I made the right choice. As my favorite Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo once said, “No regrets. Only memories.”
Kayla Gregoire was an Assistant Sports Editor. She can be reached at [email protected].
