What a year 2024 has been for me personally and professionally.
It has had it's high highs (including getting the opportunity from @Kelly Quinlan to come on board full-time with JOL back in August). It has also had the lowest of lows with the sudden loss of one of my cousins back in May unexpectedly. There were a whole lot of other things in between, but 2024 has definitely been a year I'll never forget.
I was perfectly content working as the sports editor at the Rome News-Tribune. Honestly, I enjoyed that job very much, and it was close to home around people that I knew and loved. There were very few other opportunities that would even make me consider leaving (I'm talking maybe 2 or 3). But JOL staff writer was one, and when it became an option for me, I didn't hesitate one second before jumping on it.
I won't lie, I was scared. I was scared of the unknown. I was scared of starting a completely different challenge after covering mainly high school sports for most of the last 15 years since graduating college. I was scared to try to fill the shoes of someone who did an incredible job and was so well-loved by JOL in Russell.
But I was also extremely excited for the new challenge and for the chance to cover college football, basketball, recruiting (and whatever else I'm going to be doing). I can promise you I have tried my best every single day to take full advantage of this opportunity and prove to Kelly that I was the right choice, to prove to the board that I was a valuable addition and to hopefully make Russell proud of the man who replaced him. I still have plenty of room to grow and a lot to learn, but I will continue to try to work hard and get better every day.
I hope to see Georgia Tech Athletics continue improve and become legitimate contenders in the ACC and beyond in the coming years and give Kelly and myself a lot of great things to write about. Maybe one day JOL will expect the best instead of the worst at all times. (I know that's a longshot, but there is always hope. Haha.)
So to wrap up my rambling and make a long story short, I just wanted to say thank you to JOL for welcoming me in and all the encouraging words that have been shared in the past few months. It has already been a fun ride since I started in August, and I look forward to much more of that in 2025.
Thank you and Happy New Year, JOL!
It has had it's high highs (including getting the opportunity from @Kelly Quinlan to come on board full-time with JOL back in August). It has also had the lowest of lows with the sudden loss of one of my cousins back in May unexpectedly. There were a whole lot of other things in between, but 2024 has definitely been a year I'll never forget.
I was perfectly content working as the sports editor at the Rome News-Tribune. Honestly, I enjoyed that job very much, and it was close to home around people that I knew and loved. There were very few other opportunities that would even make me consider leaving (I'm talking maybe 2 or 3). But JOL staff writer was one, and when it became an option for me, I didn't hesitate one second before jumping on it.
I won't lie, I was scared. I was scared of the unknown. I was scared of starting a completely different challenge after covering mainly high school sports for most of the last 15 years since graduating college. I was scared to try to fill the shoes of someone who did an incredible job and was so well-loved by JOL in Russell.
But I was also extremely excited for the new challenge and for the chance to cover college football, basketball, recruiting (and whatever else I'm going to be doing). I can promise you I have tried my best every single day to take full advantage of this opportunity and prove to Kelly that I was the right choice, to prove to the board that I was a valuable addition and to hopefully make Russell proud of the man who replaced him. I still have plenty of room to grow and a lot to learn, but I will continue to try to work hard and get better every day.
I hope to see Georgia Tech Athletics continue improve and become legitimate contenders in the ACC and beyond in the coming years and give Kelly and myself a lot of great things to write about. Maybe one day JOL will expect the best instead of the worst at all times. (I know that's a longshot, but there is always hope. Haha.)
So to wrap up my rambling and make a long story short, I just wanted to say thank you to JOL for welcoming me in and all the encouraging words that have been shared in the past few months. It has already been a fun ride since I started in August, and I look forward to much more of that in 2025.
Thank you and Happy New Year, JOL!
