The Boar has transformed my university experience

_**“When we first met in Freshers’, you said you were going to be editor one day.”**_

What an arrogant moron I must have sounded. But hey, it appears I was an arrogant moron who was right about one thing.

I never imagined a society could have changed my life in the way that the _Boar_ has. I have met so many amazing people, made the most incredible friends and cemented my career aspirations for the future.

From the very first article I wrote in the early weeks of first year about international students’ fees rising, to the last topic I’ll undoubtedly ramble about in 2013, the _Boar_ and its subsequent endeavours have defined my entire university experience in every way possible.

{{quote You can take the person out of the Boar, but you can never take the Boar out of the person }}

I’m astounded by the fact that we create 32 pages of entirely student-created content every fortnight, on everything from student election coverage, to reviews, interviews, reports and creative pieces. Our incredible business team secure thousands of pounds in advertising revenue to pay back our debts. Our 40-strong exec produces this content without fail constantly, and it never fails to impress me. I am consistently proud of every single person who makes this possible, and grateful to every single one of you who picks this up and reads it.

I haven’t done everything I wanted to do; the _Boar_ isn’t on the buses and there still isn’t a new sign on the office door. But we’ve had an entire redesign of the paper, increased website advertising, drastically reduced our debt, secured funding for new hardware, given opportunities for students to write, edit, produce and design whilst upholding strong standards of honest journalism to the best of our abilities. Not too bad, whilst studying for a degree on the side, right?

Throwing your entire life into one single endeavour can take it out of you. I’ve been in this damn office until 2am, pulled all nighters scripting the perfect article, reported on national events and survived an occupation. But that’s all part of the experience, of both journalism, and university itself.

Reporting on the student demo of 2010, breaking the news of Warwick’s confirmation to up its fees to £9000 and exposing the rigging of last year’s Varsity raffle, the _Boar_ , celebrating its 40th anniversary next year, is a staple part of life at Warwick for so many students.

University is about more than just the facts we learn in books and the degree classification we receive. It’s about learning to cook more than just pesto pasta, about taking responsibilities, sharing moments and combating new challenges. The _Boar_ has given me that and so much more; a truly unforgettable era. Thank you, and good night.