Letter from the Sports Editor: Thank you Technician, for everything

In four years of writing for Technician, I’ve held about every title that a sports writer could possibly have: Correspondent, Staff Writer, Senior Sports Writer, Assistant Sports Editor, and finally, Sports Editor.

One could say I’ve worked my way through the ranks. The way I see it, I’ve gotten the most out of each and every second I’ve worked here.

From the beginning of my time at NC State, I always heard people talking about “finding your Pack.” I certainly found that through Technician.

Coming into college — after graduating from Sanderson High School here in Raleigh — I could have never guessed I would have become a part of a group of people that I’ve grown so close with and which has become like another family for me.

For my last article as Sports Editor, I would like to thank everyone who has become part of my family here at Technician and Student Media and who has made my college experience truly special.

To all of my former Sports Editors — Camden Speight, Nicholas Schnittker, Jake Caccavaro, Tristan Tucker, Bryan Pyrtle and Wade Bowman — thank you all for being such kind, hard-working, smart and friendly editors and for taking me in and helping me grow as a writer. You all showed me what being both a great writer and editor looks like, and I am forever grateful for your leadership and guidance.

To the Student Media professional staff — Patrick Neal, Ben McNeely, Martha Collins and Ellen Meder — thank you all for being such amazing people and for all you do for NC State. It was a pleasure of mine to have met and gotten to know all of you, and I thank you all for your leadership and help in every step of my college journey. I would like to say a special thank you to Patrick for taking care of all of our travel plans throughout the year and for just being the man.

To all of the local media members who I’ve had the privilege of meeting over the last four years — Jonas Pope, Andrew Schnittker, Alec Sawyer, Daniel Wilson, Nick Faulkner, Chip Alexander and Cory Smith — thank you all for being great role models and for being inspiration for student journalists like me to do great things. Not only are you guys amazing at what you do, but you are all such good people, and it was a privilege to have met and gotten to know all of you.

To the NC State Athletics Communications team, thank you for being so kind and so welcoming to student journalists like me and for always being so helpful for all of Technician’s requests. I’ve had many positive experiences with Communications over the last four years, but I’d like to give a special thank you to Matti Smith, Jonas Pope, Annabelle Myers, Eric Evans, Lizzie Hattrich, John Harvey Turner, Grayson Kivett and Tyler Hotz for being amazing SIDs.

To the NC State Athletics family and everyone I’ve had the privilege of covering and interviewing in my four years, thank you all for being kind to me as a student journalist and for providing such memorable moments for me to cover. As someone who grew up an NC State fan, it’s been an unbelievable opportunity to cover NC State Athletics for Technician.

Although I’ve enjoyed every moment and every sport of my coverage, I’ve especially enjoyed covering wrestling, volleyball, baseball and, most of all, women’s basketball, so another special shoutout goes to Luka Slabe, Elliott Avent, Pat Popolizio and Wes Moore for being fun to talk to and for being great coaches. I was also hilariously locked inside Carter-Finley Stadium with Kevin Keatts for five minutes, but that’s a story for another time.

To my Editor-in-Chief, Shilpa Giri, and my two Managing Editors, Sam Overton and Wade Bowman, thank you all for having me on staff and for all your help and leadership throughout the year. I can’t think of a trio of nicer, smarter and funnier people than you all, and I honestly don’t know how I would have made it through this year without your help.

To the entire Technician Vol. 103 editorial board, thank you for being the family I will always be a part of this year and for always being a group of people I look forward to spending time with. You all made Tuesday nights feel like Friday nights up in the office, and I’m going to miss being able to spend time with you all every week.

To all of my friends I’ve made in Student Media along the way — former News Editor Avery Davis, sports writers Will Thornhill and Bryan Danner, former Technician Editor-in-Chief Jaylan Harrington, Roundabout Editor-in-Chief Bran Poster, Photo Editor Ethan Rimolt, photographers Jermaine Hudson, Natalie Folsom, Griffin Bryant, Hallie Walker, Dani Meyer, Sarah Cochran, Cate Humphreys, Jon Williams, William Flathmann and Emily Peedin, and Video Editors Chloe Allen, Isaac Hernandez and Ankith Krishna — thank you all for being great friends and for making Student Media what it is. You all never fail to put a smile on my face, and you’ll always hold a special place in my heart.

To my Assistant Sports Editor this semester and next year’s Sports Editor, Jenna Cuniowski, thank you for joining us this semester and for all of your hard work and help in running the sports section smoothly. You have been such a big help for us, and you’ve got so much potential. I know that you, Noah Teague and Erin Ferrare are going to excel next year running the section.

To the entire sports section this year, thank you all for being a great group and for all the hard work you’ve put in this year. One of the things I’m most proud of in my time in school is the growth we’ve seen of the sports section this year, and I’m proud of each and every one of you for your commitment and constant improvement. I hope that you all continue to work hard and enjoy writing for Technician next year.

And last but not least, to my fellow Sports Editor, Vol. 104 Co-Editor-in-Chief, the E-Sports to my B-Sports, the Ernie to my Bert, and my man, Ethan Bakogiannis: we did it. When I covered my first event with you — a women’s basketball game — about a year and a half ago, little did I know then that in less than a year, not only would you and I be fellow Sports Editors for a whole year but that you’d become one of my best friends.

Through all the ups and the downs, you’ve been right by my side this whole year, and there’s not anyone else who I’d have rather done it with. Thank you for always being a source of positive energy, for being such a nice and hard-working guy, for leading the section with me this year, and for being such a great friend. I know that you, Jameson Wolf and Emily Vespa are going to absolutely crush it next year running the paper, and I can’t wait to see what you do.

I guess you could say there have been a lot of people who have made my time in college and at Technician special. College hasn’t been easy — I spent half of my four years in a global pandemic for crying out loud — but if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing, and I wouldn’t have rather done it with any other group of people.

I’ve had many memorable moments in college — storming the court at PNC Arena after a men’s basketball game, rushing the field at Carter-Finley Stadium after a big football win (twice), meeting both Chancellor Randy Woodson and Athletic Director Boo Corrigan and studying abroad in England over the summer — but the most valuable experience I’ve had is getting to know and spend time with all of the amazing people at Technician and Student Media. I’ll always consider myself a part of this family and look back on this as one of the best experiences of my life.

I’ll give one more thank you to wrap this up, and that goes to anyone who has read any of my articles over the last four years. I hope that my articles have been enjoyable to read, and if anyone has been gracious enough to take the time to read this entire article, I hope I’ve brought a smile to your face and helped you understand how much this has all meant to me.

With love,

Ben Ellis