End Transmission

So, this is it. This will be the last edition of Keepin' Time, and I can't believe what a journey it's been. A few years ago my friend Craig convinced me that I had enough writing chops to join The Clock, and I worked my way up through all the Open Mics and bad album reviews on a mission to make A&E Editor. Eventually, former Editor in Chief Mike Kashtan rewarded me with my own column, over drinks on the roof of a hotel in Texas. 

I have made so many wonderful friends through this newspaper, and it would be impossible to list everybody that made Keepin' Time what it was here. For starters, Craig Brown, Mike Kashtan, Molly Cummings and Kristen Hoffman were those all-too-important people that helped me to get the ball rolling and figure out exactly what I was doing. Without those four people to push me and believe in my writing from the get-go, none of this ever would have been possible.

That being said, with no disrespect to those Clock staffs of the past, this year we had the most tight knit, well oiled machine of personnel I have ever witnessed go through this office. A lot of people, professors and students alike, have told me that this year the Clock was the best it has ever been. I firmly believe that this can be attributed to the camaraderie in the office. We're a family: we fight and we yell at each other, but at the end of the day we band together for the common goal. 

Every week, I turn in this column, and Maegen makes it shine. Betsy is the absolute definition of an "unsung hero," coming in every week and doing all the worst work, but with the biggest smile. Eric is an oaf, but few people put a smile on my face as quickly as he does. Colin, Duffy and Alex are some of the most handsome, dashing young men I have ever come across, and I'm proud to call them my friends. Katie shares my fondness for awful synth-driven hip-hop. T. Mills is the glue that binds us. Brenna brought Cudi into all of our lives, and for that we've got to be grateful. Every week, I test Little Rachel's patience with brash jokes, and every week she takes it like a champ. Allie, as much as I hate your obnoxiously long lists of upcoming events, there is no one I would rather sit next to and not pay attention with during meetings.  Thank you as well to Mollie and Adam for their contributions this year. Big Rachel has got some big shoes to fill, but I am confident she'll do an amazing job. Go for it, bro.

I have a small contingency of loyal readers who have kept up with what I have to say for the last couple years, and I am eternally grateful to those people for helping spread the word and providing feedback. Thanks to my parents, brother, friends and my lovely wife-to-be for showing interest in what I write. After all the nasty emails, late nights trying to score interviews, lost press passes and phone calls with some of my all-time heroes, it's hard to say goodbye to you all. But I'm afraid it must be.

The future of this section falls on the shoulders of my friend Alex Hollatz. Alex is a brilliant writer with a wide range of interests, and an ear for the up and coming and the relevant. I fully believe that he will be a better A&E Editor than this paper has seen in quite some time, and I hope you will all show him the same respect and love you have shown me from time to time over the last few years. Good luck, homeboy.

Lastly and most importantly, the biggest and warmest thank yous I have to extend must go to Editor in Chief Veronica Musch, and the Clock's faculty advisor, Scott Coykendall. Veronica and I have done our time in the trenches at this paper, and to watch her take control, pretty much against her will, and put this paper on her back over the last couple of years has been really something to watch. For reasons I will never fully understand, Veronica trusts me week after week. She has allowed me to cover and discuss pretty much anything I've wanted, and I'm forever grateful for that faith and for the breathing room. Everything that the rest of the staff and I have put her through would have broken a lesser person, but Veronica perseveres each week. Make no mistake; she is the boss, but she makes it clear that she is a friend above all else. Thanks V, we had a good run.

Scott isn't always around, and he's usually an issue or two behind, but there is no denying his importance to this newspaper. Scott plays the role of the staff advisor perfectly; neither smothering us nor ignoring us. He is there for guidance and to give his opinion, and we are always thankful for both. On a personal note, when I found myself a college dropout working at McDonald's a little while back, Scott was one of a handful of people that reached out and let it be known that he cared. He, and this paper, are two of the reasons I decided to finish my degree at PSU. Thank you Scott for all that you do for us, and all that you've done for me. You're the man.

So that's all folks; thanks for singing along. Take care of yourselves and take care of the bands you listen to. They need your help to stay on the road and make rent, so please think before you steal music. Thank you so much for reading and being a part of Keepin' Time.  Over to you, Hollatz.