Sven Alskog

Sports Editor

At “The Bengal” it is a tradition to have graduating members of the staff write a variation of a “senior sign off” so to speak.

Following this edition of the paper I will be graduating, so here goes my rendition of the tradition.

On a personal level, I have always thought sign offs can be tacky, awkward and sometimes a little unnecessary.

While that may all be the case, I feel it is necessary to focus on thanking some of the major people who have made constant improvement for myself and our newspaper a possibility over the last three years.

I’m not a fan of levels of importance, as I think each moment which has led to now is equally as important as the one prior. It’s cliché, but it all happens for a reason, and I am grateful I can now thank each of these people individually for their contributions.

I’ve always been a good writer according to those who decide to read what I put on paper. Back in elementary school my second grade teacher had some good foresight after I turned in one of my written assignments, which of course was about sports.

“A real sporty story. Maybe one day you’ll be a sports writer!”

How cool is that?

That is where my journey to working in sport media began. I guess I never had to go through the mystery of what I wanted to do with my life. I kind of just knew.

Some things were not as for certain.

When I first came to Idaho State University there was a level of unknown about what I was getting myself into.

I am originally from Camano Island, Washington, a little over 60 miles north of Seattle, so I knew nobody at ISU. This forced me to get involved to meet people, and I thank my roommate from my freshman year Tyler Belnap for really pushing me out of my comfort zone.

That first year Tyler and I took an English course with Professor Ted Bonman. The first paper I turned in he wrote, “Excellent. Writing will take you far!”

I wanted to prove that statement correct, so thank you for the inspiration.

My time at the paper began as a result of previous Editor-in-Chief Nicole Blanchard giving me an opportunity to be a part of the staff as a sports writer.

After just a semester Nicole moved onto Northwestern to pursue a graduate degree and Samantha Chaffin took over as the Editor-in-Chief.

Needing to fill the News Editor position she had just departed, Samantha took a chance on me.

So the adventure of a sports guy learning news began, and I am beyond glad I was able to take part in this experience.

There were so many great people I was able to meet as a result of this position and I enjoyed being able to work with each of you. I’m pretty sure these individuals all know who they are, so I’m not going to list you out, but you are appreciated.

During my time in the News Editor role I was able to work alongside Denim Millward, the Sports Editor prior to me. I admired his ability to try managing a full-time job with a family, all while still always being a friendly person who was enjoyable to work with for those of us involved with his “part-time” position at the newspaper.

I don’t have any kids, or a wife, so I guess my juggling act isn’t as exciting.

To Brandon Ohmie, our graphics guy; you are the best at what you do. Keep the beard going strong.

The last few years we have had outstanding Photo Editors. Thank you to Lenka Skalska and Miranda Steffey for being so easy to work with, and combined with your photographers, providing the paper with high quality photos each week.

Fellow section editors Shelbie Harris, Terraka Piersol, Michelle Schraudner and Scott Crighton have all done terrific jobs and working with each of them was a great opportunity.

Special thanks to our outstanding layout designer Emily Crighton for always knowing the best way to put together our pages. You make us all look good.

Thanks also to current Editor in-Chief Chris Banyas for probably being the greatest boss of all time. You all should be applying for a job with the paper so you can work with him.

And of course, I can’t forget Jerry Miller. Without you, student media at ISU wouldn’t have a voice. Thank you for allowing us to be that voice.