I’m going to get right to it and lay my cards on the table: I hate saying goodbye, and it’s not something I’m particularly good at.

I’ve called the Northern Star my home for four years. It’s where I wrote more than 400 articles and columns, each consisting of 8 to 12 inches of space. I loved each and every one of them.

This may seem biased, but in my opinion, the last four-year period was the best possible time to be a sports reporter/sports editor at NIU. That has to do with the unbelievable amount of success Athletics achieved over the years, and I was lucky to be a part of it.

The success the Huskies achieved allowed me to cover games and chase stories I had never dreamed possible. I was able to see teams reach new levels of greatness and success while witnessing players break records and accomplish remarkable feats.

Undoubtedly, football receives a majority of the credit for that. The players gave me, along with a lot of fans, one of the biggest thrills with their run to the Discover Orange Bowl in Miami.

I was blessed to be able to cover such a prolific and nationally recognized game as the Orange Bowl because many sports journalists never get an opportunity like that.

While the week in Miami for the Orange Bowl was an experience I’ll always remember, I’ll never forget being at the Yordon Center when the Huskies got the news they had been selected to play Florida State in the bowl game. Their reaction and celebration is hands down my favorite moment while working at the Star.

All in all, I’ve had the privilege of covering three MAC Championship teams: men’s soccer in 2011, football in 2012 and baseball in 2013. I witnessed softball’s Stephanie Tofft set the school record with a 36-game hitting streak my freshman year and saw football’s Jordan Lynch, a Heisman finalist, rewrite the NCAA and NIU record books.

After doing countless interviews and asking thousands of questions over the last four years, I would like to thank each athlete and coach for allowing me to do so. Thanks for taking the time to listen to my never-ending questions and talk with me.

I owe Donna Turner, Joe Summins, Jeremy Reid, Matt Scheerer and the rest of the NIU media relations staff a huge thank you for all of their help over the years. Thank you for arranging countless interviews, providing information when I needed it and making my job enjoyable and easy to do.

And of course I’d like to thank everyone at the Northern Star from top to bottom. I’ve developed a lot of relationships I will never forget over the years. You all made my experience at the Star that much more enjoyable, and thank you for always being there to help. Whether it was helping me design a page or looking over my story with me, thank you.

Little did I know when I started at the Northern Star as a freshman, I had just been hired for the best job on campus. It changed my life and I had experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I would also like to say to you, the readers, thank you for picking up a copy of the Northern Star and flipping to the sports section. There is no better feeling than walking around campus every day seeing students and teachers reading my story in the paper.

It’s hard to believe that after four years my chapter with the Northern Star has come to a close, but I guess all good things must come to an end.