A student joining a student organization in their senior year is something that is unheard of. That is what I thought, until I did just that when I joined Student Publications during my last year of my undergraduate degree. Even though my time at Student Publications was short, I do not regret it in the slightest.
What originally drew me to this group was when I started reading the school paper in Fall 2024. I read that the writer for the Vermilion health section was graduating, leaving that position open. It was around this time that I realized that I wanted to pursue a doctorate degree in biology after I graduated with my bachelor’s. This led me to thinking that this could be another aspect to add to my application package to graduate schools and could also point to careers in science journalism.
Going into my senior year, I wondered if taking this position would be worth my time, especially since this would be my last year at the University as an undergraduate. In the end, I decided to join, writing health almost every week for the Fall 2025 semester. I loved the process of finding a topic relating to health, doing the research on it, and putting it together and having it ready for publishing about a week later. It felt good to know that my knowledge of biology and health could be transmitted to the general public in this way.
For the Spring 2026 semester, there was not much going on in the health sector to write about, so I decided to start doing volunteer work for L’Acadien. It started when I wrote a faculty profile page for Scott Durbin. Little by little, I took up assignments that I could do here and there, but eventually I found myself writing multiple articles and even learning photography for the first time just so that I could help out with the other half of Student Publications. My favorite assignment was either writing for the Moving Image Arts department, where students were taught how to record sound for movies, or photographing for CAPE, the satellite-engineering organization at UL.
Unlike writing for the Vermilion to gain experience to add to my portfolio, I did work for L’Acadien purely for the sake of doing it. L’Acadien staff was tight, and they needed all the help they could get. The assignments they gave were topics and events that I wanted to learn more about, so I just decided to take a leap and do them.
The office itself has become one of my favorite places on campus. It is such a great feeling knowing that everytime I walk in there will always be someone else in there. I have made many friends during my time here, some of which I might keep in contact with after I graduate. I have learned so much, especially about topics, such as other majors, departments, student organizations and events that I would never have known about if I decided not to join student publications.
Lastly, I want my time at Student Publications to be an example that it is never too late to try or learn something new. I think one of the best ideas is to try and fail rather than to have never tried at all.