It’s really strange to write a farewell column. After working at The Crimson White for two and a half years, it’s hard to imagine not being a part of it. My job has put me mostly behind the scenes of The Crimson White. Most people probably haven’t even seen my writing, but I don’t want to talk about myself, anyway. Instead, I want to talk about the biggest lesson I’ve learned from my four years at the University, and then give a little thanks.

If there is one thing every student should be doing on campus, it’s getting involved in some sort of organization. It could be a job, like The Crimson White was for me, or a student organization like the one that I helped create, ABXY. A huge number of my college friends come from these two sources, and much of my time has been spent with these folks. I love that the people I worked with will be some of my lifelong friends.

It doesn’t matter what you get involved in, either. There’s a group for everything, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, you should create it yourself. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of organizations that would love to have more people involved.

And yes, it will eat up your time. You will be busier. But if that’s what you’re worried about, you’re missing the point. The easiest way to get burned out is to simply go to class and study. Finding a passion, or at least a mildly amusing pastime, is the best way to go through college.

With the rest of my space, I’d like to thank the people, the organizations, and the faculty and staff that helped me to make it through my college career and come out as a smarter and more experienced person.

To all of the staff of The Crimson White, thank you for making my experiences working both in and out of the newsroom a pleasure. To my first editor, Mike Faulk, thanks for hiring me and believing in me. To Corey Craft, thank you for being a great boss and someone who will be a lifelong friend. Thank you, Amanda Peterson, for keeping me on for another great year. Thanks to all of the others, specifically James Jaillet, Phil Owen, Matt Ferguson, Bobby Bozeman, Sean Randall and Paul Thompson, as you will all be lifelong friends.

To all of my comrades in ABXY Gaming, thanks for making this year something that I could never have imagined it would become. When we created this club, I never imagined it would win the “Best New Student Organization” award. To Stephen Swain and Tiara Dees, thank you for organizing, planning, and picking up the slack that I left. To Adrian Morris, you’ve been the visionary behind all of this, and I’m happy to have you as a friend and co-worker.

To everyone working on the Tom Cherones class, you guys were the best. I’ve never had a more intense yet fun four weeks. To Tom Cherones and Tom Azzari, the two guys who made the last four weeks almost magical for me, a special thanks. The two of you have so much wisdom and knowledge to impart, I wish that I could have spent another month learning from you.

To all of the staff at Alabama Public Radio, especially my boss Brian Poellnitz, thank you for the friendship, knowledge, and opportunity.

Finally, a thank you to my beautiful wife, Jessie. You have pushed me and inspired me to become a better person, and you have changed my life. I love you for everything that you do. Thanks to my family for supporting me throughout my college career.

Andrew Richardson is the Web editor of The Crimson White.