It has been such an honor to be part of the 100th year anniversary of the Setonian as the news editor, especially as it has coincided with my senior year.
I joined the Setonian during my freshman year as a campus life writer, at a time when classes and life were essentially online. Despite the setback, the Setonian was one of the first extracurriculars I joined and allowed me the chance to practice journalism as a first year student. I had loved learning about journalism in my classes, but I wanted to really put it into practice.
Being part of the Setonian has helped me not only improve as a writer, but also in my communication skills. I used to get so scared before interviewing people, I never knew how to reach out and making connections seemed so daunting. Four years later, I have gotten to know so many people and make friends in the process of working on the Setonian.
I worked my way up and was able to be more involved as a copy editor during my sophomore year. I wrote some of my favorite articles during this time, namely interviewing Valentino Petrarca when he became the first WSOU DJ to reach 100 interviews. This was one of my first times really interviewing someone for a feature story and I was so proud of myself for taking on the article.
By junior year, I was the assistant News editor. I got to cover the SGA meetings and work on one of the bigger stories that year about Africana Studies. I felt like a real journalist, working on news as it was happening in real time. But my favorite story of all time during this year was an opinion piece about being Arab American, as I had researched it extensively and was able to really tell a story within that piece.
My final year, I made it to News editor. It has been so rewarding to work with writers and see them fall in love with reporting. I am incredibly grateful to be on this 100th year’s executive board and to have been part of the Setonian during my time at Seton Hall.
While I went into journalism because I loved writing and editing, the best part has been meeting new people and working with fellow students on the Setonian.
Dareen is the Setonian's News editor and a writer for its News section. She can be reached at dareen.abukwaik@student.shu.edu.
