I am embarrassed to admit that when I first applied to be an Opinion intern at the Daily Bruin, I did not have a clue what being a journalist meant.

I certainly didn’t expect to be joining a community of over 500 people working day and night to achieve one collective goal. I, without a doubt, thought it was a prank when my editor told me I had not only been nominated, but won my first collegiate-level journalism award.

I didn’t realize being part of the top college newspaper in the country would facilitate mentorships from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and Los Angeles Times editors. Nor did I think I would one day have the privilege of being the Opinion editor and leading a section of 76 brilliant columnists.

Looking back, I never could have foreseen the next step in my educational journey would be pursuing a master’s degree in journalism. I also could not have predicted the people at the Daily Bruin would become my family or that windowless Kerckhoff Hall 118 would become a second home to me.

But most of all, I learned to never, and I mean never, underestimate what a group of 20-something-year-olds is capable of.

When people ask me what it means to be a reporter, I have the standard answer prepared. Being a reporter means upholding the level of intellectual curiosity necessary to answer complex questions about the world and share that truth with others. A reporter is someone who provides a voice to those who would not otherwise have one.

But being a reporter at the Daily Bruin means so much more.

Yes, it does mean long nights past 2 a.m. editing columns, waking up to a hundred Slack messages the day before our election issue is about to run and spending hours on end getting sucked into the beautiful chaos of the newsroom.

But it also means receiving emails from students telling you how impactful the story you just published – and honestly thought nobody was really going to read – was to them. It means learning about different cultures, communities and opportunities on campus you otherwise wouldn’t have known of. Being a journalist with the Daily Bruin means interviewing some of the world’s leading scholars, athletes and musicians.

The most rewarding part of being a student reporter at The Bruin, however, is all the people who are writing, editing, interviewing and designing alongside you. I took for granted how special it was to be surrounded by people whom I could learn from and who constantly made me strive to be the best version of myself.

So trust me when I say that it is the most incredible feeling when you get to show up each and every day, create something you are proud of and do it alongside people who inspire you.

That’s rare. But that’s also the Daily Bruin.

The infused curiosity that bleeds out of Kerckhoff Hall 118 taught me there is no such thing as being too ambitious and that journalists wield information in the form of empowerment.

So, to the many people who have empowered me to be here writing a -30- column today, thank you.

To Sara and Makenna, you two have not just been my rocks and the backbone of the entire Opinion section this year, but you are the two people who inspire me most at the paper. I have never met two more driven, kind, dedicated or loving editors, and I think the best decision I ever made in my entire life – literally – was hiring you two as my assistant editors. I can’t wait to see what you both do next year, and I am proud to consider you some of my best friends.

To Dylan, Lex and Nicolas, you three are who I always looked up to at the Daily Bruin. Whether you knew it or not, I considered all three of you some of the most talented writers, and it is because of the impact you each had on me that I even considered a future in journalism for myself. I don’t think better leaders exist than the three of you.

Thank you to the 2025-26 editorial board, which I had the honor to lead this year. Each and every one of you brightened my day with our weekly meetings. I’ll admit I sort of forgot leading the editorial board was in my job description when I got hired – don’t tell Dylan! Nonetheless, the wonderful community we formed and the editorials we published will always be unforgettable.

Thank you to Alice, my Daily Bruin Alumni Network mentor, who was always there for me throughout this past year whenever I needed someone to rely on to answer all my editor-related questions – or just for a good meal and even better company!

A special shoutout to Shaun, Tavian, Carolina, Alex, Natalia, Reid, Megan, Zimo, Shiv and Felicia – who was the first person who welcomed my terrified self into the office as an editor – for never failing to bring a smile to my face and always making me feel so at home in the Daily Bruin office.

Thank you to every single person I had the opportunity to interview and for placing your trust in me to tell your stories as a journalist. It is because of you I am the reporter I am today.

Lastly, if you ever read one of my bylines, clicked on the Opinion section of the Daily Bruin website or picked up a copy of the paper at a newsstand on campus, I owe my biggest thanks to you. Without readers like yourself, I wouldn’t be able to do the one thing these past four years have taught me I love most: be a journalist.

So, if you ever thought a group of 20-something-year-olds couldn’t accomplish a seemingly impossible task they set their minds to – well, think again.

All you need to do is pick up a copy of the Daily Bruin on your walk to campus to find out why.

Benayon-Abraham was the 2025-26 Opinion editor, a 2024-25 assistant Opinion editor, and an Opinion and News contributor.