By Ryan Wilson, Editor
My experience with The Lamp has been a dream — from the “stanky leg” dance to eating pizza and watching NBA at the State Journal-Register, to interviewing a potential Olympian, to talking to current and former professional athletes, to having a lunch with Pastor Tom Christell and discussing Marty Morris.
But the fat lady has opened her mouth and started singing. My time with The Lamp has come to a close.
I have been with The Lamp for two years, and it has been awesome. Every minute of it.
No, really.
I started with The Lamp two years ago under the former adviser Paul Povse. I didn’t know what to expect when I signed up.
One day, I sent Povse an email, expressing my interest in joining. And from his extremely excited response, I could tell that this experience was going to be fun. From start to finish.
It was.
I have learned so much from The Lamp. Especially life lessons. I am now more confident with myself. I am no longer afraid to talk with people.
When I started with The Lamp, I was afraid to intrude on someone’s lifestyle. That has changed now, thanks to Brenda Protz (my speech teacher), Povse and current adviser Tim McKenzie.
They have given me self-confidence. Because of them and this trait, I have met seemingly hundreds of people in the last two years.
This has been a life-changing experience.
I have so many more connections, including strong relationships with all the head coaches in the athletic department. Especially with volleyball coach Jim Dietz. I cannot thank him enough for answering all (no, really, all) my thousands of questions. His witty and quick responses would make me laugh, especially when he told me that he did the “stanky leg” dance for his team a few years ago.
From that point on (and still today), I have tried to hunt down that video of him dancing. No luck, but I know it will be worth the wait.
Dietz is funny and full of answers. But he also cares about everybody, even encouraging me to apply to work for the popular sports blog SBNation because it was hiring sports writers.
I always enjoyed covering sporting events at LLCC. It has been a great (learning) experience. Plus, I have built relationships with some athletes, all of whom have incredible stories.
Some of those relationships, I know — whether it is with a coach or player — will last for long, long time.
Thank you, athletic director Ron Riggle and the entire athletic department, for letting me tell (or at least try to tell) your stories for the past two years. It was been one great ride.
My memories, however, go beyond sports.
Lynn Whalen, director of public relations and marketing, has gone above and beyond to ensure that all my questions were answered. And that all my requests were met in seemingly the blink of an eye. She has been a big help. Thank you, Lynn.
Whalen is a former radio reporter. Sometimes when we met, I would ask her for advice on getting into the media.
Whalen is required by board policies to sit in on any media interviews with any Lincoln Land vice president. One time after an interview with Todd McDonald, vice president of administrative services, she said, “Good questions, Ryan.”
That was memorable.
This entire experience with The Lamp could not have been better.
It was been awesome to have a random person — teacher or not — say, “Hey, you’re the newspaper guy!” to me. I am a product of several newspaper “guys” and a countless number of sources.
Thank you, LLCC community, for reading my stories. Thank you for all the kind words. Thank you for believing in me when I had doubts.
Without, Whalen, Povse, McKenzie, Riggle, Protz, Dietz, the entire Lamp staff, President Dr. Charlotte Warren and dozens of other people who I interviewed, none of this would have been possible.
We would not have been able to publish 12 editions, a website and several social media sites this year. We would not have been able to win 13 awards — including the Mike Foster General Excellence Award — at the Illinois Community College Journalism Association.
This has been one heck of a ride.
I know The Lamp is in good hands with Tyler Allison and Madison Mings at the reigns. They, I know, will be able to steer this newspaper into an even better position, due to his passion toward journalism and leadership abilities.
My brain has probably doubled in size with everything I now know. But it is time that I let someone else learn as much as I did.
It is time I sit back in my chair and watch you all succeed and have twice as much fun as I did.
Ryan Wilson was editor of The Lamp during the 2014-15 school year. He can be reached at lamp@ llcc.edu or (217) 786-2311
Correction: A previous edition of this article incorrectly named the president of Lincoln Land Community College. Her name is Dr. Charlotte Warren.
