Jeremy Andrew, contributor

This spring, the Echo says goodbye to four graduating editors and wants to spotlight their accomplishments and unique experiences during their time at Augsburg. 

Dominick Ingram, Sports Editor, saw Augsburg as “a hardworking school” when he first came to visit. Being a student athlete, he noted that although we didn’t have the most state of the art athletics facilities in the MIAC conference, we still won games and won championships. By the end of his time on campus, he has built himself into exactly the kind of hardworking Auggie he saw then. When asked if he has a favorite memory from his time here on campus, Ingram said “For me it was just being so busy… I wake up at, you know, 6:30 in the morning to plow the snow but then I have to bring a change of clothes for class, but then change back into my work clothes for after class and then go to practice and then go to an Echo meeting in between all that… I think that’s something I’ll miss, even though it gets difficult, it was pretty fun being with all these different groups of people every day.”

Reflecting on her time spent at Augsburg, Managing Editor Jasmine Chikkala reminisces on the community spirit of the student org meetings, and bonding with her cohorts over the stress of the demanding social work curriculum. She reminds us to take solace in one another and value the community we have here, telling new students to “get involved so you don’t isolate yourself… It really does help when school is hard.” Chikkala follows her own advice and counts the Pan-Asian Student Service, TRIO, the Social Work Honors Society, and the Social Work Forum as organizations she’s been a part of, as well as Mental Health Matters, a student organization she founded.

Sarah Burke, Features Editor, remembers most fondly the long back and forths about obscure corners of literary and intellectual errata she indulged in with her favorite professors, opening new pathways in her imagination and her future prospects, and bringing her into contact with intriguing and like-minded individuals. Initially struggling to decide on a major to follow and still a little unsure of what career she’ll pursue, Burke credits her time at Augsburg with helping her “develop a bit of a backbone” and learn to make tough decisions. A former aspiring Opera star and current actress, she’ll also miss her time in the Sateren Auditorium, fondly recalling “putting on costumes in the back, everyone kind of talking and playing music, and right before the first show everyone’s really giddy and hyping themselves up.”

Copy Editor Danny Reinan, also a veteran of many Augsburg student productions and a theater/social work double-major, spoke about theater’s special significance as an ephemeral art form. As they near the end of their career as an Auggie and act in their last college production, “Into the Woods,” they “experience an energy and electricity that [they] don’t experience in any other area of [their] life.” Reinan joined the Echo following the example of their father, a professional journalist of nearly 30 years, and describes how important the Echo became to former honors students such as themself after the collapse of the Augsburg Honors program. From those early days as a writer to their role now as Copy Editor, Reinan has carried the spirit of the paper on their back, ringing in each general meeting with bright humor and prompt discharge of duty. 

The Echo wishes all our senior editors the best of luck in the future. Thank you for all your hard work!