Editor’s Note: Traditionally, graduating seniors working at The Collegian are given the chance to write a farewell note at the end of their tenure at CSU.

Toward the end of 2021, The Collegian took in a wide-eyed wannabe sports reporter named Braidon Nourse, who admittedly had no idea what he was doing. What’s the difference between a feature and a recap? That kid wasn’t exactly sure.

Typically, when sports reporters join the desk, they are assigned to a low-stakes story to learn the ropes. Sometimes, it’s a feature on a club sport, or maybe it’s a profile on a walk-on athlete. In my case, it was the opposite. After another reporter canceled on covering a football game, I jumped on the opportunity. So three days after I joined The Collegian, I covered my first Border War football game in Laramie, Wyoming.

I was hooked. Looking back, though, that first story was a far cry from anything half decent.

Fast forward six months, and I got the opportunity to apply for sports editor, which is the position I’m now leaving. I’m not graduating like most others who do these goodbye columns but rather stepping into a new opportunity for my final year at Colorado State University.

My time as sports editor has been nothing short of extraordinary. I’ve covered conference tournaments, buzzer-beaters, heartbreaks and complete team rebuilds over my tenure as editor. Those things were cool, but witnessing and facilitating the growth of new sports reporters is what I’m most proud of at the end of the day.

When sports director Karsyn Lane and I took over the desk this year, we had no other reporters. Over time, that number grew from zero to five, and our core group of reporters has grown so much this year. What I thought was most notable was the fact that our reporters ranged from people who just switched majors and never did any kind of reporting before, to even a high school senior who had lots of experience and knew exactly what they wanted to do.

I appreciate all The Collegian has offered me during my time. In addition to gaining an avenue to pursue my dream, I’ve also met lifelong friends in the process that I probably never would have otherwise. The Collegian confirmed that I had made the right choice in what school to attend and what career to pursue, two things I constantly questioned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thank you to The Collegian and everyone who is not directly mentioned but knows who they are upon reading this column. Thank you, the reader, who has taken the time to read this column and whatever other banter I’ve written about CSU sports. Everything I do is for you in the interest of quality local journalism and keeping you informed and entertained.

Goodbye, Collegian. 

Braidon Nourse was the sports editor and can no longer be reached at sports@collegian.com but can be reached on Twitter @BraidonNourse.