Caroline Bryant
The Southern Editor-in-Chief
A typical senior goodbye from an editor of The Southern usually involves them saying how they never expected to write until they stepped foot on campus, took a communications class, or read a copy of the paper.
This is not that type of goodbye.
When I applied to colleges on the Common App, one of my application questions was, “Why did you choose your major?” I wrote about how my love for writing stemmed from begging my mom to buy me magazines that lined the check-out aisles of the grocery store. That response was apparently worthy enough of an acceptance from Florida Southern.
As I stepped on campus in August 2021, I wanted to get involved with FSC’s media as soon as possible. During the first week of class, my professor brought in big, scary juniors and seniors who ran our media to speak to the class to encourage freshmen to join. Gripping my pen, I immediately wrote down the word “Practicum” in my planner and waited until Friday at 10:50 a.m. to arrive.
At my first Practicum, I volunteered for my first-ever article for The Southern. It was on men’s soccer– for some reason– and I did my best to write as much as I could about sports in 500 words. I hated it, discouraging me away from Practicum for the rest of the fall semester.
Luckily, I would be drawn back in, in the spring when alum Faith Miller asked me to apply for an editor position. Though I didn’t feel worthy of the position, I submitted an application anyway. The next month, I’d be in the lab with the current editors, learning the ropes of the newspaper process. Other trainees included alumni Emma Lauren Poole, Dylan Olive and Diego De Jesus.
My official start as features editor began in August of 2022. I’d stay in the position for two years, writing some of my favorite stories ever published. My favorite to this day is still “‘Love letter to Lakeland’: Paying homage to the town and its historic homes,” highlighting the creatives behind the Amazon documentary, “The People Who Live There.” My interview with the filmmakers lasted almost two hours, just sitting and chatting with them in their S. Florida Avenue office.
In 2024, Emma would transfer her title as editor-in-chief to me, leaving me in charge of a paper, and because it wanted to come back to haunt me, the sports section. While it was a roller coaster adjusting to the role, all the loops just made the ride more thrilling.
But what makes me not want to get off this roller coaster most of all is the people. I am forever honored to have worked with not just fabulous people, but fabulous friends. Whether they were already my sorority sisters or people I met through the paper, they are the reason why I sit here tearing up as I type this at 6:51 p.m. during my Dockery Lab shift.
To my section editors, Angela, Julia, Lillie, Jacob and Asher: Thank you for all the memories made in the lab. Thank you for giving me more ideas for the quote wall, the best conference trips, allowing me to interrupt your editing with “news” I learned from TikTok and for always making the paper the best it can be.
To Kaelyn: Thank you for being such a joy. You never fail to check in on me and make sure I’m doing okay during the bad times. Without you, I think I would’ve crashed out by now.
To Beatrice: You are my roomie and forever friend. I don’t know what I would do without you. Thank you for letting me drag you into yet another thing to do with me. I’m so happy you found a home in The Southern as I did.
To Dr. Michael Trice: Thank you for allowing me to be a leader when I felt I was born to be a follower. I now have the confidence to tackle challenges and speak my mind – even if that means bugging you in your office to do so.
And to the newest editor-in-chief, Anna: You inspire me. I’m so proud of your hard work and your enthusiasm for this paper. You are going to be an excellent leader and I will be cheering you on from the sidelines every step of the way. There is no other person I’d pass the baton to.
Now it’s 7:09 p.m. and I think I’m finished with my spiel. I don’t want to end this letter, because if I do, that means it’ll be the last thing I ever write for The Southern. So, just like my favorite movie, “The Holiday,” I won’t be ending with a goodbye, but “Be seeing you.”
I told you it wasn’t that type of goodbye.
XOXO, Caroline Bryant
