May 11, 2015
50 Year Issue
Samantha Morley
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I came to UCCS to get a bachelor’s degree in English.
I wasn’t keen on making friends. I didn’t want to become attached to my teachers. I just wanted to get my degree and move on with my life.
That was my plan, but it didn’t work out quite as I had anticipated.
My mother convinced me to transfer to UCCS. I previously studied at Pikes Peak Community College, but needed to transfer in order to continue my English degree. I never would have imagined coming to UCCS, let alone enjoying it.
Since transferring here in 2012, I have consumed a plethora of information and fostered meaningful relationships that will have a strong impact on the rest of my life.
Some of the classes were incredibly boring. But quite a few were spectacular and allowed me to open up in ways I never could before.
Teachers actually let me speak against them if it was productive. They let me present my own perspective on the course materials and even appreciated my sass.
I had confidence that I could openly express my ideas and not worry about repercussions from my teachers or classmates.
That is the true beauty of this school.
UCCS let me be me.
Then there’s The Scribe.
I started out as a reporter that wasn’t expecting too much. I had no idea how to write journalistically. I didn’t even know The Scribe was a reputable publication.
But I learned that the students who run the newspaper every week are more than just people who are looking for an on-andoff job that pays. They’re actually students who care about what is being printed.
We are the only newspaper that covers UCCS news and events. Because of that, we’ve printed some amazing stories and endured difficult trials as a publication.
I’ve been under the leadership and guidance of three Editors-in-Chiefs: Sara Horton, Jesse Byrnes and Jonathan Toman.
Together we have shifted from an everyother- week newspaper to a weekly; we campaigned to keep the newspaper in print; and we’ve increased the overall presence and importance of the publication throughout campus.
We have grown. All of us, together.
Graduation week is a bittersweet experience.
I will be getting a degree that I’ve worked very diligently for, but will be leaving behind an institution that I treat with great respect and love. I adore both UCCS and The Scribe. Both have provided me with experiences I could never have had otherwise.
I didn’t expect to become so attached to the people at The Scribe, the students or the faculty and staff. I have so fully embedded myself into the campus community that it is a struggle to snap the roots I have worked so hard to establish.
I’m going to miss the environment, the politics and the people of this school more than any place I have left before.
I am honored and proud to be part of the graduating class of such a monumental achievement, 50 years of UCCS. I hope that with this, my last article for The Scribe, my contribution to the university will be both useful and remembered.
Happy 50th Anniversary, UCCS.