A man sits to my right with his head thrown back, snoring as he chases some rest. Another sits a few rows in front of me loudly talking business on his phone (it’s not going well) with an ankle hooked over his knee and black frame glasses hovering on his brow.
I’m sitting here on my laptop, typing my farewell column for The Bulletin, in the Kansas City airport as I wait for my flight to Nashville to board. I’m on my way to an all-day interview with a Tennessee radio station in the hopes of finding where I will call home after I graduate in a few weeks.
While I sit, listening to the conversations and shuffling around me adding to the melody of snores, I can’t help but think about my time at Emporia State.
When I first came to the university, I didn’t have many expectations or requirements. I wanted to get a decent education in journalism and feel like a valued student on campus. Turns out, the bar on the floor was still too high.
The past year I have not felt valued as a student in any way. I have even felt at times like I was a burden to have on campus. A student, but not the kind that was welcome.
That isn’t to say that I haven’t learned and grown during my time here. I have grown more than I could have ever asked. I have experienced and learned how to deal with hostile interviews, trauma interviews, fun and low stakes interviews, and all the stories that came with them.
I have also made some valuable connections through my time here, many of whom would not have been made without the firing of 33 professors on campus, a fact that in itself weighs on me. I am thankful to all of you reading this and everyone who has supported me.
My time at ESU may not have been easy, or even enjoyable, but I will always value the connections I have made.
Now, I am leaving this university behind, every step also separating me from the person I was before. I can still see her, but she will remain in Emporia, growing ever smaller in the distance as I move forward.
I always felt pulled to tell the stories others weren’t able to. Now, I feel the need to continue telling stories and stand up for the truth, more than I ever thought possible. If I was a wave crashing into shore then, I am now a tsunami, growing with every passing day.
Before I leave this paper, I want you all to know some simple facts about me.
I will always be only a call away. Whether you are a source in need of someone to trust with your story, a friend in need of help or anyone in between. For those of you who don’t have my personal information, I can always be found at @SamarahBailey on Twitter, just send a message or tag me in a tweet.
For those of you who may have recognized my name enough to read this, but don’t know my story, I have worked this past year as an investigative reporter for The Bulletin, covering student debt, the hiring of Ken Hush, the firing of the 33 and more.
I grew up in Missouri, coming to Kansas to play softball for Hutchinson Community College before transferring to ESU. I am an older sister to three young siblings and they are why I fight so hard. If you take one thing away from my character, know that I am determined and will find a way to get things done, big or small.
Thank you for getting to know me here before I leave. I can hear the flight attendants preparing to have us board, so I must go and take my next steps. Wherever I find myself in the coming months, I hope I can leave knowing I have made you all proud and I have done everything in my power to tell your story.
The snoring has stopped. Time to depart.