Trying to sum up my time at The Daily Orange is an impossible task. Working here has been the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. It’s been great to work with so many talented and passionate people every night. I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done without this place. I came to Syracuse knowing I wanted to work at The D.O., and it’s been as awesome as I hoped it would be.

ALJ: You were the first person I met here, and you helped me through my first story. You gave me a great introduction to the paper and kept your promise of putting me on a beat as soon as you could. Thank you for getting me started here. Thank you for being the first one to teach me how to do this right.

Brett: I was extremely lucky to have you as my SE for my first semester in house. You made me feel welcome, and that meant a ton. Most of all, thank you for giving men’s lacrosse. It gave me my first experience of covering a bigger beat and allowed me to be a bigger part of the staff.

Mike: I can honestly say you’ve taught me more than anyone else. Thank you for pushing me and helping me improve my writing. It’s been great sharing beats with you and covering everything from the Pinstripe Bowl to the Final Four. I can’t wait to watch your career progress even further. I hope we can share a press box again soon. Thanks for everything.

Ryne: In the last couple of years, it’s been great to have you as a friend and colleague. Whether it was bouncing ideas off of you or venting about a myriad of frustrations, you helped me in more ways than you can imagine. Thank you for helping me transition to SE and for your willingness to offer advice or help.

Mark: It’s been great working with you these last few years. I really feel fortunate to have had you as my EIC this year. It was a great feeling knowing you were always there to help me out, listen to my ideas or offer yours. I always appreciated that. Thank you for that, but also for giving me a chance to be SE and pursue so many incredible opportunities.

Laurence: Of anyone at the paper, I’ve trusted you more than anyone else. If we ever had a problem, I knew I could go to you for help and you’d have the solution. Thank you for all of the hard work you’ve done for the paper. It was great working here with you, and also sharing some of those, well, interesting experiences in class. Good luck in Oregon.

Lizzie: From the lacrosse guide to the Georgetown In the Paint, you made everything we did look incredible. Thank you for taking my really, really vague ideas and turning them into guides and special sections we could all be proud of. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated your dedication and hard work.

Ankur: There’s no one I’ve had more fun with here than you. I’m honestly not sure how I would’ve made it through the last couple of years without you being here to lighten the mood or ease the frustration. Thanks for being a great friend — and for all of the nicknames. And remember: Don’t do ‘em like that. Mamba out.

Jacob: I’ve never questioned your passion for your job, but more importantly, this paper. You worked extremely hard this year, and were a huge help to meant the section. You’re going to do a great job as sports editor. I’m always here to help if you need any.

David: It’s been great to watch you grow as a writer and reporter these last couple of years. It was great to know I had a reliable writer and dependable worker on staff. You’re going to do great things on the bigger beats next year. Looking forward to working with you again this summer. See you at Yankee Stadium.

Becca: Some of the best nights we had in Sports were the ones when you designed for us. Not only did you make it fun, but you made everything infinitely easier for all of us. No matter what our content was, I always knew you’d make it look awesome. Thank you for all of the hard work you did for us, and thanks for making work fun.

Beth: Sports was obviously your favorite section to design, and for good reason. We’re awesome. But seriously, you gave us some really, really great back pages. You always had great ideas and always executed them perfectly. Thanks for everything.

Chelsea: Somehow, we managed to make budget and head eds fun. If you ever need anyone to drive you to sketchy places in Syracuse to get pizza, let me know. Thanks for helping make work fun.

Casey: I’m really glad you’re taking over as EIC. I know the paper is in good hands going forward. You did a great job as news editor and I can’t wait to see what the paper accomplishes with you as EIC. Good luck with everything.

Maddy: Every time you came into the office with questions, I’m pretty sure you thought I was pissed. But I promise I wasn’t. Or least I wasn’t pissed at you. Truthfully, we were lucky to have you as copy chief. Thank you for your patience and making sure our writing was as good as it can be. Good luck with everything as ME.

Chase: I appreciate how hard you worked to make sure we always had sports photos — and good ones, at that. It was great working with you this semester. I don’t ever remember the relationship between Sports and Photo being as good as it was this semester. Thanks for all of your help.

Phil, Trevor and the rest of the Sports staff: Thank you for all of your hard work this year and this past semester. Watching you all improve is what made this job so rewarding. I appreciate the dedication you all had to your beats and to the section. Keep growing as writers and reporters, read everything you can and never take working here for granted.

Everyone else: One thousand words is not enough for me to write to each person who helped make my time here great. Thank you for making this place as awesome as it is.

Mom, Dad and Courtney: You’re the reason I’m here. You pushed me to pursue my dream and always picked me back up if I got down on myself. I can’t put into words how much I appreciate all you’ve done for me, whether it was driving me to events I was covering, taking me to the airport at ungodly hours or making sure to read everything I wrote. I hope I made you proud. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.

Published on April 30, 2013 at 12:40 pm

Contact Chris: [email protected] | @chris_iseman