The leaves on campus have changed from green to shades of red, yellow and gold and by now, most of them have fallen.

The change of seasons marks the end of another semester at Baker and the end of my time as editor of the Baker Orange newspaper.

Two years ago, I wrote story after story about budget cuts, faculty layoffs and the reduction of programs.

This year, I’ve written story after story about the implementation of programs, about new buildings and about how Baker University is on the right track.

Things really have changed for the better at Baker.

I’ve thought long and hard about how I wanted to end my last column for the Orange.

How I wanted to say thank you to all the people who have made the past six semesters more memorable, more exciting and more exhausting than I ever thought they could be.

It’s hard to believe I will never write for the Orange again; that I’ll never design pages late at night in freezing, cold Pulliam Hall or receive phone calls in the middle of the afternoon alerting me of some crisis that, in the end, turns out to be nothing of a crisis at all.

Former Orange editor Kyle Davis once said that being on a college newspaper “puts you in a small fraternity of those who have also shared the experience, past and present.”

He said it best when he said one couldn’t ever understand everything that goes into this job until you do it.

And he was right.

This job came with its ups and downs.

There were weeks when I was excited to see the Baker community pick up the Orange.

There were weeks I couldn’t wait to walk into my first class on a Friday and see everyone with the newspaper in hand or open across their desk.

And there were weeks I just had to stand there and take criticism from my peers, from faculty and staff and from some of my closest friends about articles that were in the paper.

Those weeks hurt.

But, through all of those challenges and difficulties, I was able to grow as a person, and I’ve been changed because of my experiences through the Orange.

And I know I am not alone in my joy and frustration that goes hand in hand with being on the Baker Orange staff.

To those who have come before me, to those still on staff and to those still to come; thank you for your dedication to this program. Your hard work does not go unnoticed and I appreciate all you do and will do in the future

So, this is the end. The end of my time on staff and the end of my time as editor.

As I look around the newsroom and see all the awards, the front pages of past papers that adorn the walls and the memories only a newsroom can have, I know that my time, like those editors before me, has come to an end.

But, the Orange has left an imprint on me that will not soon fade.