I knew I was going to work at The Scribe before I even enrolled in classes at UCCS. I fell in love with photography in high school but felt majoring in visual arts was too risky – The Scribe was the perfect outlet. When my tour stopped in front of The Scribe’s office and I stared at what would eventually be my own desk, I knew I would do whatever it took to work here. 

I started college in Fall 2021 hoping for a fresh start. In high school, everyone saw me as a nervous wreck who was on the brink of tears during every presentation, the wild combo of K-pop stan and horse racing freak. Or at least that’s how I saw myself. I promised myself that in college, I would be open about my anxiety and interests.  

And I achieved my goal on day one with my GPS professor, Laura Austin-Eurich, when she showed a picture of Belmont Park, a thoroughbred racetrack in New York, in her self-introduction slides. I walked up to her after class, and we talked about Belmont Park. I was able to tackle my fears on day one. What I didn’t know at the moment was that Laura was the faculty advisor to The Scribe.  

In the fall of my freshman year, I rolled my ankle in a pothole in front of the University Center as I ran late to an appointment at what was formerly the Communication Center. I showed up and was then turned away because I didn’t have enough of my speech outline completed.  

One sobbing panic attack later, I felt that was the perfect excuse to tell my boss at my fast-food job that I can’t balance school and work. But really, it was the push I needed to apply to the photographer position at The Scribe that I’d been eyeing on SEANs.  

The Scribe offered me the job, even though I bombed the interview by saying talking to people scared me because of my lifelong social anxiety. I learned later that a photo I took of a racehorse named Tuff Willy Te helped me secure the job.  

I owe so much of my personal growth to the leadership at The Scribe. Laura, my beloved editors Taylor Burnfield, Lexi Petri, Zee O’Donnell, Tori Smith and so many others have pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me in so many ways. They’ve helped give me the confidence to walk up to strangers and ask questions without fear, which I didn’t think would ever be possible. 

Though I’ve always loved horse racing, I discovered a love for “people” sports at The Scribe. The first games I photographed were basketball games during winter break my freshman year, and I was hooked. I picked up bits and pieces of terminology and got run over by athletes more times than I can count. Eventually, I found the courage to do post-game interviews with athletes — true sports reporting.  

I’m finishing my time at The Scribe as the Photography and Sports Editor. I am so proud of my photographers and reporters and their growth since they’ve been hired. I’ve enjoyed discussions about how they can strengthen their work as much as discussions on how to strengthen my own. I’m thrilled when I see an incredible photo or a lede from them that I’d be proud to have created myself.  

My time at The Scribe has pushed me to consider sports journalism as a viable career path. I start my dream job, an internship at a horse racing newspaper, in June.  

Some weeks, I would complain about how much homework I had to do, but even more about how I needed to photograph and report on two or three games, cover a club meeting and somehow make Columbine look interesting. It was organized chaos, and I loved every minute. 

This newspaper is the highlight of my college experience. I wouldn’t have enjoyed the past four years as much as I did if it weren’t for The Scribe. 

Photography and Sports Editor Lillian Davis.