Rony Camille

It seems to be a tradition every year when the last issue of the Campus Echo goes off to press; this page is filled with final remarks from the editor-in-chief and senior staffers.

I've been told that today is my turn.Many have asked me to give them personal shout-outs. If I did, we would be here until God knows when.

It didn't seem that long ago when my family dropped me off after an 11-hour drive from Nashua, New Hampshire

Yes, let the record show that I have Haitian and French-Canadian roots, but I hail from New Hampshire and NOT any other "northern" state.

As I write this piece, I cannot believe that in just a few hours, my stint as a college reporter will come to an end.

Let's see ...12 issues a year, multiply that by four, add nine for special issues — 57 issues is a lot of Campus Echos!

I've been here through every single one of them.

The good days in some of our enterprising projects, the bad days when the nation’s eyes were watching our campus, to when we lost one of our own.

I have this feeling that there will be still much to be done when Wednesday comes.

But people come and go.

I came here. I stayed; I almost left when things got rough for me. But I stayed.

Now that the storm is coming to an end, it’s time for me to go.

I have faith that the next generation of Echo staffers will accomplish much much more.

We work hard to cover all aspects of the campus from an unbiased point of view.

Some folks respect us for it;some do not.

We cannot please everyone since that’s not in our job description.

We report the facts and strive to make sure that both sides of the story are heard.

That’s how we get better.

The Campus Echo is a great institution that has trained many of our best people in the media business.

Putting the Campus Echo together is a process — it doesn’t just begin with production on Tuesday nights.

It’s a process that I’ve sacrificed socially and sometimes academically for.

I do it because I aspire to be a great story teller and to be the best in my field.

When people said it couldn’t be done, I only worked harder.

And had it not been for the drive of Dr. Bruce J. dePyssler, the support of the Department of English and Mass Communications and members of the N.C. Central U community, who knows where your Campus Echo would be today?

It is my sincere hope that with the upcoming leadership changes at NCCU, that the community will allow the Campus Echo to conduct business as learning journalists.

I never understood how student journalists can be expected to cover the hard issues out in the African-American community as professionals, when they are not given the full opportunity to get enough experience on campus.

Outgoing Chancellor James H. Ammons told me about the importance of student media at HBCUs in his Q&A last week .

In the past four years since I’ve been at NCCU, his office has never failed to return our phone calls.

Even after a story ran, and he didn’t get a chance to comment, we would still get a comment from The Office of the Chancellor on a story.

I hope in the future this will be the case for the entire University.

This institution has taught me a lot as a person, and I’m thankful I was given the opportunity to come here.

Because honestly, there was almost a point where I didn’t know if I was going to go to college.

I realize how lucky I am to be here — it’s a big deal.

Not too many black men can say that they’ve received their degree.

Plus, as a the first member from my family’s current generation to go to college after my parents immigrated from Haiti nearly 25 years ago, that’s a big deal.

It’s been fun.

As a child, I dreamed of covering a presidential election for a college paper and being involved with the networks — Now that I’ve done that, it’s time to go and reach for higher goals.

Mesi Anpil [thanks a lot] to all of those who believed in and helped me along the way — You know who you are. Adieu & E-Funk!

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