Thanks to The Miami Student, I became more than a student-athlete

When I first came to Miami University, I thought I knew exactly what my life would look like. For four years of high school, I was a varsity athlete, and my whole life was being a student athlete.

Joining the track team here at Miami, I expected it to be the exact same, and for a while it was. My life consisted of going to practices, lifts and classes while hanging out with my teammates whenever we had free time. I loved living like this for a while, but I got a reality check in the spring my first year when I tore a disc in my back and was told I would have to redshirt that season.

I had never in my life missed a season due to injury, and it was a struggle to hear that I had no say in the matter. My days went from hours in the weight room and discus ring to hours on the training room table. It was a complete 180 from what I was used to, and it flipped my world upside down.

The next semester I realized that to get the most out of my college experience, I needed to be more than a student athlete. I wanted to get involved on campus, so I scrolled through the list of clubs, eventually landing on one called The Miami Student. I saw they had a business manager and reached out to see if they were looking for an assistant. Luckily they were, and I became the new assistant business manager. Little did I know that would be the start of some of the best friendships I would find in college.

I want to say a special thank you to my dear friends and fellow seniors Sam Norton and Kasey Turman. Without the two of them, I don't know what I would do in the newsroom when I get bored. We have had some great memories these past three years. I also want to thank Taylor Stumbaugh and Livi Patel for putting up with me and the guys. TMS wouldn’t be the same without you guys and I know the paper is in good hands next year.

Saving the best for last, I couldn't talk about my experience in college and TMS without mentioning Devin Ankeney. If you know Devin, you know they are the most kindhearted, generous and talented person you will ever meet. Devin was the business manager before me and they showed me how much more there can be in college and life.

We spent hours obsessing over the best show ever made, “West Wing,” discussed the records we had collected and hoped to get in the future, and marveled at the wondrous things that Shohei Ohtani has done for the sport of baseball. Thank you for being by my side in the newsroom and the infield of the softball team. The world hasn't seen a SS and 3B duo like us since Jeter and A-Rod. I will always cherish these moments and I will always think of Devin when I think of the good parts of college.

To any future members of TMS reading this, I hope you have as much fun with the paper as I did. Instead of just being a student athlete, The Miami Student allowed me to be so much more. TMS is the best student newspaper in the nation and I know it will continue to be.

smith646@miamioh.edu