On Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, I sent an email with the subject line: “Interest in the Collegian” to the paper’s Head Sports Editor Lulu Kesin. At the time, I had no idea what would come from that email, but I just felt lucky to be in a position to send it.

Years of my life were stripped away from me, and I don’t mean by COVID-19. A sickness kept me from being a normal kid from eighth grade through what would’ve been my freshman year in college. I was, for the most part, stuck inside my house for six years.

I had to do high school online, and I struggled so much back then that I dropped out after my sophomore year. For years, doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong or how to help me. I was stuck as a shell of myself, unable to control anything, wondering if there was any hope of ever making anything of myself.

The process of getting healthy took a lot of time as well, but as I progressed, I began to find hope. I went through the process of acquiring my GED, and shortly after, I ended up getting into college.

At the time of that email being sent, I was still learning who I was again. I had a rough first semester of college at my first university before transferring to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and I was now at a school with 30-times the number of students.

I struggled to find my place at UMass for a while. I initially lived in a suite in Sylvan with no roommate after mine gave up on college after three days of being on campus. I barely used my voice on a daily basis outside of the phone calls I would make to my mom.

After hearing people in one of my classes talk about the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, I decided to research it. I had no previous reporting experience and wasn’t even sure if it was something that I’d enjoy. Coming to the first few sports meetings was beyond intimidating, but over time, it became the main thing I looked forward to every week.

The people were what kept me coming back. Finding a welcoming group that shared the same love of sports that I had was the first time I felt I was in the right place since middle school.

Being a reporter didn’t come as easily. Before the first club hockey game I covered, I reached back out to Lulu, this time with the email subject line: “Collegian Tips,” asking for any help she could give me. Despite her giving me an extremely detailed outline of exactly what to do, I showed up to the arena and still felt out of my element.

But being out of my comfort zone was exactly what I needed to find out who I was again. Forcing myself to do things was hard, but as I had hoped, it got easier and easier over time.

It’s crazy reflecting back on how much this newspaper helped me turn into the person I am today. I came in so guarded and scared of what was to come next. I got to experiment with things, allowing me to truly find my passion for writing.

I remember the day I got placed on the baseball beat for the first time like it was yesterday. I called my parents in jubilation, never expecting things to take off like they did from there.

Along the way, I’ve made so many memories that will always stick with me. I think back to the trips I took to Buffalo and West Point, among many others, and one thing remains a constant:

The people.

Being a reporter is great, and I’ve had a ton of fun doing it, but the people I’ve had the pleasure of doing it with along the way have made it all the more worth it.

I think back to the 12-hour day I had at McGuirk Alumni Stadium last year, waiting for the weather to figure itself out. In most circumstances, this would be a miserable experience (not that sitting there in the unknown was fun by any means), but sitting alongside Johnny Depin, Dean Wendel and Sydney Ciano made that memory a positive one.

Anyone within it knows the Collegian truly is so much more than just a newspaper; it’s a family. No one that I worked with ever felt like a coworker; they felt like friends.

I have been truly learning how to be a person within society again for a good chunk of my time in college, and the Collegian has always felt like a safe space to do so. After feeling like six years of my life were taken from me, I can honestly say that the experiences I’ve had in college were worth the wait.

At this point, I feel comfortable and confident in who I am, and I owe so much of that to the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.

Mike Maynard was an Assistant Sports Editor. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @mikecmaynard.