Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.

Amanda Eggert: A new year, a new beginning

Amanda Eggert, Editor-in-Chief

Summertime is slowly drifting away with a little less than a week away until classes start. This will be the start of my fourth, and hopefully, final year.

Two years ago I found myself as a second-year commuter student wanting more out of my time at college.

I knew I liked the idea of writing and I wanted to be a journalist, but I didn’t know what that meant.

When I joined The Independent Collegian that year at the end of August, I was a reporter unsure of my own writing.

I remember the pain and the struggle of crafting stories on deadline.

One night in particular I remember writing a story at 10:30 p.m. about a Student Government meeting. I had no idea if I would be able to finish it on time. There was a lot happening in the office that night — yelling about what was going on the front page, not having photos to run with a story, frustration about not having enough space — and I was hesitant to take control of the problems I was facing. I wasn’t able to think through solutions quickly.

I have since then learned a lot about my own potential. Moving up to community editor a year later, I was astounded at how much I’d grown and learned as an individual. Now, as editor-in-chief of the IC, I have taken charge and developed skills as not only a manager, but a leader.

I have spent time teaching reporters the tools for success, which have included my own mistakes and missteps to lead them to have confidence not only in their writing, but in themselves.

To me, the IC is not only a place that I work, it is somewhere I can call my home. I spend my time in the office between classes. I have distinct memories of being there besides deadline nights. I like to go back to the office after class to talk with other staff members and use it as a place to relax, away from the hustle of the rest of campus.

I get to work with a talented group of my peers who not only support me, but who believe in me because I believe in them and the incredible things we can do together as a team.

Working at the IC has taught me to have patience and to remember that all of the hard work will pay off — revising and editing a story, late nights, pressure of deadline — and is worth it because the final product, the newspaper, is something that represents the UT community, which I am proud to be a part of.

Our mission statement is something we created that shows how we will serve not only our readers, but community as well.

OUR MISSION

  • The mission of The Independent Collegian is to provide honest, reliable, informative and truth-seeking journalism to the University of Toledo community. We will do this by:
  • Teaching the next generation of journalists the skills and qualities they need to excel.
  • Holding authority figures and others accountable by objectively evaluating their statements and examining both the motives for and results of their actions.
  • Holding ourselves to equally high standards of honesty, reliability, accuracy, transparency and objectivity, even if the results are unpopular or inconvenient.
  • Serving as a voice for the UT student body, both through our own words and by providing ways for others to express their ideas.
  • Using our influence to advocate positive change in our community.
  • Caring for our community and acting in a spirit of collaboration, while never forgetting to serve as an independent voice.

Amanda Eggert is a fourth-year majoring in communication, and is the editor-in-chief of The Independent Collegian.

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