Dear Patriots,

I’ve worked at Fourth Estate for about two years now—half of my college career, and the majority of my time at Mason. I was first a staff writer covering movies and politics. My first big story was about the Charlottesville riots and their impact on the gubernatorial election.

That Fall, I became the assistant news editor under previous Co-Editors-in-Chief Fareeha Rehman and Sosan Malik. They taught me how to write like a journalist and work in a professional newsroom environment. The following Spring, we printed our three-part series on Koch influence at Mason, something that next year’s co-EIC Dana Nickel and I had been working on for nearly nine months. That was my proudest moment in college up to that point and the day I knew I wanted to be a writer for life.

And then I became editor-in-chief. This year has not been easy. We have had staff shake-ups, legal threats and drama with other student groups, and have faced both criticism and praise for our coverage. Sometimes we made mistakes, and sometimes we got it right—I think that is the best anyone can hope for in the end. While I cannot yet say if I will miss the often-tumultuous responsibilities of this job, I can say with the utmost confidence that I will miss every single one of the talented and brave people in the Fourth Estate newsroom. I could not have done this job without the people I work with, and I leave you in good hands one last time.

Sincerely,

Alexander Shedd

Editor-in-Chief