The Daily Bruin has been my longest and most stable relationship in college.

I said that haphazardly as a joke to my roommate last week, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how literal the statement was. Joining amid the first weeks of fall quarter of my freshman year, this paper and its people have been the backdrop to my entire college experience.

I have a vivid memory of sitting down on the grass in Dickson Court South the second week of fall quarter in 2021 to conduct my interview for joining The Bruin as an Outreach intern. It was held over Zoom because campus instruction remained hybrid during the COVID-19 pandemic, and full in-person operations had not yet returned to normal.

Joining this paper at such a transitional stage of its workflows, dynamics and culture gave me the opportunity to witness great change – and for me to change with it.

Outreach was a relatively new section when I joined the paper, and I’ve had the pleasure of watching it expand in its size and structure over my past four years working under it. To be a small part in the growth and establishment of the Outreach team has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and I cannot wait to see how it continues to blossom beyond me.

Looking back, unpredictable change was a major theme of my college experience.

From COVID-19 restrictions and teaching assistant strikes to the pro-Palestine protests and Los Angeles County fires, abrupt and rapid change on campus is something I’ve become accustomed to.

Perhaps the greatest change, however, I’ve gone through in my undergraduate career comes from my personal life.

December 13, 2024, I lost my father to his nearly 15-month long battle with colorectal cancer. I had approximately three weeks over winter break to recover from this devastating loss before returning to campus and resuming school like normal.

The transition was jarring, but having something to return to that had been so consistently part of my life for the past four years was incredibly grounding amid a time where everything I had ever known was falling apart.

The consistency of The Bruin helped me mentally survive one of the most difficult years of my life.

Though the news and our work changes every day, the people and this paper never do.

Beyond being a support system through the bad, my brain correlates The Bruin to everything good about my college experience as well. From late night dance parties at editor retreats to giggling with Outreach contributors over makeup product recommendations at our weekly assignment desks, many of my fondest college memories have been with this paper and its people.

This paper has been there for me through the good, bad and everything in between. And there’s no way I would have rather had it.

Thank you to Cece Schmitz and Kate Green for being my Outreach day ones. Your friendship truly made the section feel like a home.

Thank you to Victoria Li, Olivia Simons and David Rimer for hiring me during my first year as an editor. Your warmth and leadership is part of what inspired me to remain dedicated to this paper for so long.

Thank you to Isabelle Friedman, Abigail Siatkowski, Emily Tang, Lex Wang, Sanjana Chadive and Mia Tavares for being wonderful leaders to work alongside and under these past few years.

Thank you to every single Outreach contributor I’ve ever hired and worked alongside. Thank you for the time and dedication you demonstrated to this section and for trusting me as a leader. It truly does mean the world.

Thank you to Kaiya Pomeroy-Tso, Ella Maulden, Kayla Williams and Felicia Keller for all being wonderful editors to work alongside in the Outreach team these past few years. Your innovative ideas and passion for the work helped shape the section into what it is today. I’m incredibly grateful to know you all.

The biggest thank you of all goes to Neeti Badve. Your leadership, kindness and friendship these past four years has meant the world to me. I’m forever indebted to this paper for making you one of my best friends – my Daily Bruin experience would not have been what it was without you.

Looking back, this paper helped keep me grounded amid some of the most challenging moments of my life.

I know I am not the first to call this paper a home, and I’m certain I will not be the last. The Bruin and the value it brings to people’s lives has remained a constant for many years.

College taught me that life is full of change you cannot control.

However, what you can control is your reaction to harsh change and the people you surround yourself with to help make dealing with it a little bit easier.

The Bruin was that for me – a constant in my life when so much of my world was unsure.

Anz was an Outreach director 2024-2025, assistant external Outreach director 2023-2024, assistant Outreach director 2022-2023 and Outreach contributor 2021-2022.