Newly graduated from high school, I was sitting among a handful of other soon-to-be students of the University of Tennessee as we listened to a panel of journalism faculty and journalism majors talk about how important this college was to them.

I was intrigued but a little bored. Mostly, I was feeling an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. There were so many esteemed and accomplished people here, both from the professor’s side as well as my peers. I knew UT would be a big school, and I was fully committed to the challenge, but I also felt keenly that I didn’t quite belong here.

That all changed when I heard Bella Hughes speak.

She was wearing blue (I think) and recounting to us her experiences as design editor of The Daily Beacon. She was polished, professional and stunning. I was drawn to her sense of humor, her choice of wording and her overall demeanor. This was a woman who was going to get things done. She would also be my managing editor for my freshman year and then editor-in-chief for a (very short) semester.

I was inspired. Whatever Bella was doing, I was going to do, too.

I worked for a year as a copy editor at the Beacon, all the while observing this girl who would soon be my friend. She was sometimes hurried, often busy, but never outwardly anxious. I felt calm in her presence and secretly aspired to one day be managing editor of the Beacon myself.

That dream came to stark fruition very recently. Unexpectedly, I found myself leaving my position as copy chief and fulfilling the open role of managing editor almost a year earlier than I had initially anticipated. While Hughes is no longer at the Beacon, I am proud to say that my desire to emulate her — and all she did for me in our almost two years of working together — is still very much around.

I am grateful for the sudden acquisition of this role and eager for the many faces I will get to meet, the articles I will get to edit and the opportunity to serve my university in this way. I am so thankful for Bella’s intelligence, kindness and leadership in this paper.

She saw me when I was a nobody in the newsroom, and she encouraged me to grow here. The world needs student journalism, and I am more than happy to follow in her footsteps and help it flourish.