Collegiate Times

Previous recipients of the quilt have been those affected by the events of September 11 as well as those devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Football games were a way of life for me. My family had season tickets long before Michael Vick was a blip on the radar. We sat on row NNN in section 20. My spot was all the way against the wall, where I stood during every game. Those were the times of Maurice DeShazo and Jim Druckenmiller.

Once I was a freshman in 2003, I gave up my hallowed spot to stand in the student section. That season was the most memorable for me, which included the hurricane game against Texas A&M and the upset of No. 2 Miami.

From the beginning of the 2004 season until the bowl game in Atlanta, I gave up the orange effect shirts and jeans for a polo shirt and khakis. I sat perched above the Lane Stadium crowd and watched as others cheered on the Hokies, as I sat in the silence of the press box.

Every time "Enter Sandman" began to blare over the sound system, it killed me inside to not be able to jump up and down. I fought like crazy to keep from yelling on a third down or a punting situation.

I hated it, but I loved it at the same time. Covering the Hokies was an opportunity I will never forget. I learned about the tons of people it takes to work an event as large as a Tech game.

It's the people like sports information director Dave Smith who don't get noticed by the average fan. It's the statistics coordinator who keeps track of the smallest details for the media.

All of that is gone now. The time of covering Virginia Tech football could very well be over for me. Do you think I'm sad? No way.

I had the best time ever. I made connections and met people I would never have met without the opportunities I had over the last four years. I accomplished a goal I set before I started my first day of classes.

Mom, Dad, I did it. I did what I wanted to do. I reached the finish line.

What a great time.

I've only cried twice as a student at Tech. It is crazy how they've happened only 16 days apart. The hours, minutes and seconds spent writing the countless numbers of articles for the Collegiate Times are now over. I devoted four years of my life to this paper, and I'm proud of it.

My time may be up — but the memories are treasured forever.

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