Reflections with a Heartfelt Goodbye

Three and a half years can really change a person. In three and a half years I have experienced a lot; in that time I went from an intern to a City News Group staff member who could contribute positively to the community. I was given the opportunity to start my dream career. Along the way, I made friendships that will remain close to my heart and worked in a warm environment that fostered creativity and genuine care. As I close this chapter of my life and embark upon the next, travelling to Colorado, my new home, I reflect upon my time at CNG with deep fondness and appreciation. I walked into the doors at City News Group for the first time as a young woman looking for more than just a job. I wanted a career that I loved, an environment where I felt comfortable and the chance to give back to others. Not only did I receive that during my initial internship at CNG and later during my employment, but it was more than I could have asked for. It was invaluable, and it was everything I hoped. I gained skills that would help make me successful in my career, and I gained skills that would make me successful in every aspect of my life. I was welcomed into a place that wasn't just a business or a company. It was a family. At City News Group, I have been mentored by our publisher Margie Miller in ways I cannot repay. She immediately recognized the yet unrealized potential within myself - and she truly has a gift for this. When I shared with her my desire to report political news, without reservation and with enthusiasm she gave me the skills and experience I needed to cover this type of beat, helping me exceed every goal I set for myself. Margie provided me with guidance and reassurance, allowing me to learn and grow as a reporter, as an editor, and as a person. Helena Harris was my first CNG mentor, and she saw something in me almost four years ago when I came to CNG with enough ambition to make up for my lack of experience. I will be forever grateful that she, too, saw my potential and helped give me this chance of a lifetime. At CNG I have found some of my biggest cheerleaders. Margie always encouraged me, and my colleagues, to strive for the best. She has taken each and every one of us under her wing and helped us realize our dreams. She made my dream of becoming a reporter a reality, and for that I am forever, ineffably, grateful. Thanks to her, I am not the same woman I was three short years ago. I will take every single thing I’ve learned and bring it with me into this next step in my life. Mark Twain said, “Really great people make you feel that you, too, can be great.” Everyone who walks through these doors gets the chance of a lifetime. At City News Group I have gained sharper skills and better judgment, and I have risen above various challenges we all faced as a team. I have also gained friendships and close professional relationships that I will cherish for a lifetime. You all are really, truly great people, and because of that, you have made me feel great. Working at City News Group was a golden opportunity I will always be thankful I took, and you will remain forever in my heart.