As the oldest of five siblings, all girls, it was my duty to lead the “wolf pack.” I made sure they did their homework, ate something other than candy and did not kill each other over a page of stickers. Most importantly, I had to be someone they could look up to and follow by example. When I left home in Tennessee to go to school in New York, the troops stayed behind, and I lost that sense of camaraderie until I joined Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism.

On a typical Sunday afternoon, you will find the class of JRN 371 in the newsroom prepping for Monday’s broadcast. Sport fanatics Kunal, Jim and Jael are on the sidelines helping the latest sports anchor with the athletic lingo. I was their first student. Taylor is on the other side of the table assisting Nikita edit her piece. I can always count on those two to lend a hand when I am struggling. And Melissa is sitting beside me checking my audio levels and cracking jokes on the side. She is great at making me laugh when I am stressing out. These are just a handful of people in what has come to be my second family. We help each other out and stick together through all the stress this major throws at us because we want everyone to succeed.

When I think of leadership, I cannot single out myself. Without my classmates to fall back on when I need them, I would not be as successful in the journalism program as I am today. So am I a leader? Yes. I am there for my classmates whenever they need me, whether it be for editing their packages, shooting a video for their stories or driving them to their interviews. I want them to succeed just as much as I desire success myself.

However, I am also a follower. I learn something new every day. For instance, I am not a sports person. I had a professor who used to poke fun at me because I called a home run in baseball "a point." So when I found out I was going to be a sports anchor, I panicked. I did not know how to write a sports script, let alone voice it on air. But without hesitation, the guys in my class offered their help and dedicated part of their weekend to educating me in all things athletics. That Monday morning, I became nervous but confident in my ability to anchor sports.

It is this combination of being a leader and a follower that has molded me into a dedicated and well-rounded journalist. I am the managing editor of the Stony Independent where I coordinate interns and ensure content is published in a timely manner. I was a teacher’s assistant for JRN 310 in charge of producing the three-minute weekly Stony Brook Newsbreak and for JRN 320, a multimedia course where students work in groups and have their stories published each week on the longislander.info website. While these positions are leadership roles, they are also parts of a team, and I would not have made it through college without my classmates. So thank you to my peers, my friends, my teammates.