I started my time at Illinois Tech in fall 2019 and started my TechNews journey that same semester. Thus, I have been a member of TechNews for six years, participating in 12 volumes of the publication as a layout editor, writer, and editorial board member.
Here are my TechNews stats
Issues Layout Edited: 78
Articles Written: 88
Playlists Made: 54
Songs Suggested: 785
E-Boards Seen: 5 (Detweiler-Castaneda, Marten-Barrera, Sivashanmugam-Petrone-Shiflet, Petrone-Shiflet, Shiflet-Ammerman)
Follow this link to see the playlist of all the songs I’ve ever suggested in playlists in TechNews.
Here are the changes I helped oversee in TechNews
- Switch from old membership structure to tiered structure with General and Senior Writers
- Switch from Adobe to Affinity products for layout editing
- Switch from standard budgeting to fixed percentage budgeting
- Switch from old website to new website
- Switch from old archive to new archive
- Implementation of generative AI checking
- Creation of a Media Advisory Board
My Overall Experience in TechNews
I joined TechNews as a freshman, and it immediately became an integral part of my life. I have built amazing community and friendship with members of TechNews, and I have had so many fun and challenging opportunities to try new things as a result of my membership and leadership. I have been able to interview a Saturday Night Live cast member, work with various departments and offices across Illinois Tech, network with companies in Chicagoland, and get free access to certain events on campus.
Being in TechNews has helped me to grow as a person. I have developed business skills, leadership skills, communication skills, and editing skills that have benefited me in my educational and professional life. I have learned so many new things about the world, the student body, and the administration of Illinois Tech through my time in TechNews.
TechNews has been an important part of my identity since I joined. I have spent about a quarter of my life in TechNews. Letting it go hurts. Learning to let someone else take the wheel of TechNews is hard. This has been one of my passions for so long. It’s going to be so strange to come back for my PhD and not come to meetings on Thursdays and not having editing on Sundays.
I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped me on this journey. Lexi, Quinn, Dan, Kevin, Angela, Nova, Elio, Tessa, and more. Thank you for everything.