Staffers Say Farewell to The Santa Clara

Gogo Jones[dropcap]I[/dropcap] joined the newspaper staff my sophomore year as Online Editor, my main task being to upload print content onto the website. It was a fine job, but I was pretty much isolated from the action and teamwork of production night since I came in to upload stories on Thursday mornings.

As I continued on as Online Editor my junior year then Managing Editor senior year, I made an effort to be more involved. I started designing graphics for stories and even helped edit stories if the squad was short-staffed. I began to feel an increased sense of camaraderie with other staffers and loved the fact that I was contributing (even in small ways) to the creation of a tangible product that is hopefully seen and appreciated by the Bronco community on a weekly basis. The work was tedious at times, but incredibly rewarding.

I have to acknowledge the talent of my newspaper colleagues this year that made my time at the paper all the more memorable. John Flynn is one of the most incredible writers I know, period. Nick Sonnenburg and Nick Redfield are two of the most easy going yet hard working guys on our crew, each possessing a personality and style that brings life to the newsroom. I could always depend on Lindsey Mandell to make me smile. All of the designers and photographers—especially Eric Bonilla and Lena Eyen—added visual spice to the text. Kali Swindell is arguably the coolest underclassman I know and our fearless leader, Sophie Mattson, will be my lifelong friend.

I am so grateful for my time here at The Santa Clara. It’s hard to explain just how much the memories and relationships mean to me and how they have inspired an appreciation for the invaluable craft of storytelling.

So here’s to the late nights, screwing up dinner orders and cranking out issues that will live on in the archives forever. Thank you, TSC, for being a cornerstone of my college experience.

Contact Gogo Jones at gjones@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.

Nicolas Sonnenburg[dropcap]M[/dropcap]y first flirtation with journalism came in 2005 when my father took me to see George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Watching Edward R. Murrow expose Senator Joe McCarthy as the scourge he was inspired me to consider a life in the world of news.

The latent interest in journalism followed me to college and I was lucky enough to begin my tenure at The Santa Clara my sophomore year. Three years later, I’m graduating and concluding my term as the paper’s News Editor.

During my three years at The Santa Clara,  I poured countless hours into in-person interviews, furious bouts of writing  and numerous nights of editing. I’ve been lucky to interview students and faculty members that I wouldn’t have encountered had I not taken this job. The paper has given me a chance to  understand the importance of journalism and grasp how hard it is to capture a story both comprehensively and in an unbiased fashion.

Some of my fondest memories are of our Wednesday publication nights. Crammed into our small, windowless office, the editorial staff would work tirelessly. Delirious and haggard, we would lose our minds, laughing uncontrollably at each other’s idiosyncratic personalities as the hours passed (John Flynn’s outbursts about Kanye were particularly entertaining).

Our task finally completed, sometimes in the early hours of the morning, I would emerge from the basement to see intoxicated, costumed underclassmen flocking the Bronco (my favorite game to play was “guess the mixer theme”). But Thursday morning I knew it was worth it all when I   would arrive on campus to see a fresh edition of The Santa Clara displayed in the dispensary boxes scattered around the school.

Although I’ve set my sights on a legal career, my time at The Santa Clara has been a cherished experience. Publication nights and the weekly deadline for stories could be exhausting but I’m certain I will miss the rhythm of  our news cycle and our paper’s hilarious staff.

Contact Nicolas Sonnenburg at nsonnenburg@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.

John Flynn

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s an open joke that nobody reads the school paper. I make it myself—probably on a bi-weekly basis. And honestly, I can’t blame our “readership.” A glass prism holds every amusing diversion ever in our pockets. And the black boxes that the newspaper stocks every Thursday morning aren’t exactly eye-catching. And we’re student writers. And you’re busy. I get it. I rarely read the paper before I started writing in it.

And that’s a humbling, but freeing realization. Because so few people read or—heck—even want to write for the paper, I’ve gotten to do nearly everything that I’ve wanted to do this past year. Shoot—an article about me being nude in public ran on the front page. Like most of college, this newspaper is make-believe. Each week, we craft a facsimile of the real deal. And with few fleeting exceptions, nobody cares as much about what we write as we do.

But I like what we did this year. And I like everyone I worked with. And I would like to thank the paper for buying me a Kanye T-shirt, WWE tickets and two rib dinners so I could deliver the high quality journalism this school deserves.

Contact John Flynn at jfflynn@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.