I’ll miss it and I’m sad it’s over

There was a moment in my life where I was about to drop out of college because I felt it was not going to be worth it. I was getting tired of being enrolled in courses that were not helping me learn a damn thing about my career.

I applied at The Prospector three times and my applications went without a response for months. I started to get disappointed and lose hope.

Each day was the same. I would go to class and I would go back home. I was not involved and I never knew what was going on around campus. I was ready to drop out and start working with my dad as a construction painter. 

It wasn’t until Amanda Guillen, the editor-in-chief at the time, called to interview me for a position as a news contributor. I immediately started to freak out because I didn’t have a resume or any nice shirts or slacks. I called my girlfriend, who was studying abroad in Germany, to ask her for advice and she told me to not be an idiot and that I should go to the interview.

I bought a blue shirt and some black slacks to try to impress another college student that I’ve never met. I woke up early and decided to be 15 minutes early to the interview to show some professionalism.

Unfortunately for me, Amanda was one hour late to the interview. So, there I was sitting on the couch of the front office looking at my phone wondering if she would even come to interview me. My hands were sweating and I didn’t have a clue what I was going to say to Amanda.

Whatever the reason was, I just want to say thanks, Amanda, thanks for believing in me and for giving me the chance to work at The Prospector, because after I started writing for the newspaper, my life started to change for the better.

The Prospector gave me the experience that my classes couldn’t offer me. Throughout my Prospector career, I have served as a contributor, staff reporter, layout editor and multimedia editor.

The Prospector became my home. In the last two years and a half, I’ve spent more time here than I did at my house. Do I regret spending that much time at the office? Yes and no. The Prospector opened a lot of doors for me, it allowed me to grow as a person and in the professional field. The Prospector gave me the tools to become a leader and the liberty to express my journey with my mental illnesses.

The Prospector gave me the opportunity to intern with Telemundo El Paso, where I was able to learn how to shoot and edit video packages. Thanks to The Prospector, I was able to become a better journalist, which allowed me to embark on a three-month internship with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where I served as the multimedia intern. While in St. Louis I was able to write, shoot and edit videos. I was able to tell the stories of the people behind The Shower Truck—a free showering system that allowed homeless people to take a shower.

I will never forget the knowledge, memories, jokes and articles I wrote and the people who made this experience an incredible journey.

My girlfriend Maria knows more than anyone how my mental health affected my life and our relationship. I want to thank you for supporting me through this journey. I’m thankful for having you in my life and for encouraging me to join this publication and for always believing that I could become a better journalist. Thanks for all your love and support. I love you!

Vero, thanks for always taking time out of your schedule to listen to what was going on in my life. You’re one of my best friends and I will always be grateful for all the advice you gave me.

Kathy, thanks for being the best and toughest advisor. Thanks for all your advice and for supporting me through my mental health breakdowns.

Isabel and Marcie, thanks for all the hard work that you do for us and for always having an answer to every question that we had.

Christian, my oldest friend, thanks for being who you are. I love your honesty and sarcastic way of being whenever I ask you a simple question. I’m sorry if I made too many jokes about your age, but if you ever need money for a wheelchair or some pills for your memory, just let me know. I hope we can watch Harry Potter again and start getting mad at Harry for his stupid decision of going back to Hogwarts each year.

Gaby, you came to The Prospector telling everyone that you didn’t need friends, but look at you now. You’re the monster I created while being at The Prospector, and I mean that in a good way. Thanks for supporting me through the hardest moments of my life and for always bringing your unique art to the office. I think everyone who is graduating will miss your Jack Skellington pillow.

Michaela, thanks for being the leader you are and for making me a better reporter and editor. Thanks for being there for me when I would cry over my love problems. I hope we can go back to the desert in the middle of the night and just talk about what’s been going on with our lives after we graduate. If you ever need to go back to Juaréz for another special mission, just let me know. 

Gigi, you’re crazy and you always bring a positive vibe to the office and I’m always going to be grateful for that. Thanks for bringing in your Spanglish and unique Mexican jokes to the office. You better take care of my computer and not make a mess like the other editors do with their computers.

Adrian, I’ve never seen you mad and that is kind of weird, especially for the type of jobs that you have. Thanks for always bringing a smile to the office and a willingness to work on four stories per issue.

Jeremy, you’re one of the best reporters I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with. I’m sorry for the time I hacked into your Facebook account, I hope you were able to forgive me for that.

Ana and Alejandra, thanks for being the best layout editors and for always coming with the best ideas to make our newspaper look awesome. Both of you have so much talent and I know that your work will be recognized by a lot of people.

Jason, thanks for your jokes and for always making fun of people with the cartoons you would turn in.

I’m sorry for not mentioning every student whom I had the chance to work with, but I want to let you guys know that it was a pleasure to be with all of you guys.

As I’m finishing writing this column all I feel like doing is crying, and telling people that the work done by The Prospector students should not be overlooked and that we are just as important and put out just as good content as the other media outlets of El Paso.

This newspaper means the world to me and I hope that the next generation of students can appreciate it in the same way I did. Elenie, Jake, Gigi, Adrian, Brianna, Daniel, Sergio and Claudia please take care of this place and work as hard as we did. Thanks for all the memories and moments that we were able to experience together. 

So, what is my next move after graduation? I’m going to start a job as a content producer with Telemundo El Paso.

And whoever took one of our office chairs, good riddance!

Rene Delgadillo may NOT be reached at [email protected]