When I applied for the job of executive editor at The Student Printz, my goals were clear. I wanted to bring The Student Printz up to par with the best college papers in the country. So far, this plan is right on track.

It's hard to run a paper with a rotating student staff. To create something of quality, you really need to work on it full time, which is not a luxury for any of us. The section editors and myself keep putting in overtime and then some. But, I know our core group of contributors will soon settle in and we can begin phase two.

Our staff suffered terrible personal loss; our copy desk was hanging on by a thread; one of our columns generated some trite controversy I've had to handle over the phone; one of our stories deeply hurt someone it intended to help, and I had to handle it over the phone as well. On top of all of this, our entertainment staff has drastically dwindled.

But over the course of all of this, I've become more steadfast in my beliefs and learned how to operate a whole set of programs and processes I never laid hands on before. Every problem that has arisen has been solved. I'm more optimistic now than I was before the first paper.

I'm proud of my staff and our work so far, and I look forward to what comes next.