With graduation approaching shortly, it seems like each day is a new “last” for me. The last basketball game I’ll attend as a student, the last time I’ll attend a spring formal, the last paper I’ll write for a class; the list goes on. But today is special. Today marks the last article I’ll write for The Cavalier Daily. It’s also my first.
When I reflect on the seven semesters I spent at The Cavalier Daily, I don’t think of lasts — I think of firsts. My actual first day consisted of a business staff meeting led by Kelvin Wey. At some point in the meeting, he stood up and drew a value creation model on the whiteboard. It was probably a simple model, but I swear I nearly quit because I had no idea what was going on.
But something kept me coming back. Something to the tune of innovation, self-governance, collaboration and whatever other fancy buzzwords you want to throw in there. The point is, I wholeheartedly believe The Cavalier Daily is a student organization unlike any other at this University.
This organization gave me many new experiences, and I am nothing but grateful for each of those. My time at The Cavalier Daily was the first time I did a lot of things, and I don’t just mean using Quickbooks, creating budgets and negotiating contracts with the University. I’m talking about the first time I took a polaroid selfie in the parking lot of IHOP at 2 a.m. Or the first time I sat in a car for 14 hours with near strangers asking each other the New York Times’ “36 Questions to Fall In Love.”
But painting a rosy picture wouldn’t do justice to my time on the managing board. Those 12 months tried and tested me in ways that I never expected. And on those late nights in the office when I wanted to leave, four people in particular made staying worth it. Julia, Dani, Lianne and Chloe, thank you for believing in me and supporting me. You became my friends and mentors each in a special way. Your collective passion for the paper is contagious, and I am lucky to have spent the past year learning, trying and growing alongside you.
This is my first and last article for the paper. This was also the first and possibly last time I’ll ever have a nameplate that reads “Chief Financial Officer.” I am truly humbled to have served a group of people as passionate and dedicated as those at The Cavalier Daily. I am so thankful to this organization for giving me an experience of a lifetime.
Allison Xu was the 126th Chief Financial Officer of The Cavalier Daily.
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