Thanks for two great years

Photo by Mark Hinojosa

From the Board

It's hard to believe that it's been two years since we were first elected to serve on ONA Mizzou's executive board. In that time, we've flown drones, brought a world-class storyteller to campus, encouraged self-care and more. We hope that you all have gotten as much out of ONA Mizzou these past two years as we have, and as we move onto new jobs and experiences in new cities, we wanted to take this chance to say goodbye.


Sarah Darby, president: ONA Mizzou has exposed me to all kinds of new skills and awesome friends, and I will miss being a part of the organization. I am so proud of everything this organization has accomplished this year, from hosting Jessica Abel to teaching students new skills at workshops. The new executive board is a great group of motivated students, and I'm excited to see all of the awesome events they'll plan next year!

Emerald O'Brien, vice president: Through this organization, I have made great friends, learned new skills and learned more about Mizzou and myself. It has been a space for me to further my interests (e.g. spending half a year getting the amazing Jessica Abel here) and to dip my toes into things I had no idea I was interested in (like building data visualizations with Tableau). I'm so happy to pass the baton to the new, amazing group of leaders, and I can't wait to do more with my ONA skills and connections as I join the ~real world.~

Madi Feller, treasurer: The thing I'm going to miss most about ONA Mizzou is simply being able to learn so many new skills, while simultaneously watching a bunch of other great journalism students doing the same. ONA Mizzou has taught me to always be thinking ahead, and I can't wait to take all of these experiences with me into future jobs. ONA, ILY.

Ryan Levi, social media coordinator: I'm going to tell you a little secret: I had never been to an ONA Mizzou event when I ran to join the executive board two years ago. But it looked like the kind of organization I should be a part of it. I was 100 percent right, and my only regret is not having taken  advantage of this great resource earlier. No other organization provides the kind of valuable skills workshops that ONA Mizzou does, and I am a better journalist simply for having been at those events and around the other incredible members of this board. I can't thank them enough for putting up with my weirdness, and thank you for tolerating my many memes on Facebook. Keep on keeping on.

Kara Tabor, membership development chair: When I first discovered ONA Mizzou as a sophomore, I knew that I had stumbled upon my nerdy-yet-mighty niche of the Journalism School. Now, as a graduating senior getting ready to wrap up my bachelor's and start my master's here, I'm so thankful that I've been able to surround myself with the people and events of ONA Mizzou. Being even a small part of helping to bring Jessica Abel to campus was a blast and one of the many highlights of my time on the board. To our new executive board, appreciate the people you are serving with and keep the digital passion alive!

Maria Davison, secretary: For me, ONA Mizzou was thinking about things differently. I will never be a digital journalist in a newsroom setting, but everything I was exposed to through ONA Mizzou — from storytelling techniques to data visualization software —has had a valuable impact on my experience in journalism school. I can't wait to see what the new exec board dreams up. ONA Mizzou out.