Just like any athlete’s eligibility, time runs its course and one day you don’t have it anymore. While I’ve never been a student-athlete at Baker, my time with sports has come to an end. For the past two-and-a-half years, I’ve been able to call myself a Baker Orange staff member and for the past semester, I’ve been able to call myself the sports editor.

I’m thankful, not just for the experience gained, but from the moments I’ll never forget. I was able to be a part of a lot of wins and a couple unfortunate losses, but more importantly I was able to see the impact of sports on student-athletes’ lives and their entire college experience. I saw true leaders come out of tough losses and the respect that underclassmen have for them.

I want to thank all the coaches, players and administration for the interviews and the insights into the game you love, the Orange for giving me the opportunity to lead the sports section of the paper and the cherry Coca-Cola that got me through the Wednesday of print week each month.

There were great people in my position before me and there will be great people to come after me in the spring, but here’s to the semester they left me in charge. It’s just up to the teams now to keep bringing in championships that the Orange can write about.

In two weeks, I will walk across the graduation stage and my eligibility as the sports editor at Baker will come to an end. Thanks for all the memories Baker. I truly couldn’t have done it without you.

Bailey Conklin