Sinclair community and dear Clarion readers, as my fingers type this article, I do so with a heavy heart and a mind full of beloved memories.
When I first came to Sinclair I had clear trepidation about going to a community college. There has always been a stigma about community colleges in society and in my mind.
However, I am proud to say that I have never been so happy to be proven wrong! The friends and mentors I have met here are some of the best people I could have ever imagined to meet.
I have done more things here in my year and a half than in my entire life so far. I look back on proudly being the Sinclair Tartan mascot, shaking hands, creating smiles and laughter with my funny mascot walk and dance in that hot, hot suit.
I hold my time helping students as a Student Ambassador in high regard, where I learned how to lead from a boss that was an incredible communicator.
I joined a brotherhood that showed me paths into my future that I never thought possible, through traveling to cities and meeting with others like me who are driven and committed to the success of all who were around them.
I have gained two mentors in that same brotherhood, that I am going to make a part of my life until the day I cease drawing breath into my body. They have become more than mentors, they are my friends, role models and on many occasions parents.
I love them so much in ways that I’m unable to put into words because there are none to explain my feelings for those two champions of the underserved and sometimes forgotten.
I smile when I remember the influential speakers and guest visitors I have had the pleasure of meeting, whose encouraging words still ring in my head to this day.
The friends I’ve made have helped shaped me into someone who cares for other people more than I care for myself, because I discovered that when they’re happy, I’m happy and vice versa.
At Sinclair I’ve become a better public speaker and presenter than I ever thought I would be. I’m now able to address rooms filled with people without hesitation.
In addition, I’ve honed my craft of the written word at this very establishment, The Clarion.
Finally, I have succeeded in obtaining a degree that is going to further propel me into a career in which I can use all the skills and values I’ve learned here at Sinclair, to try and make the world a better place for the next generation.
As I sit here typing what is my very last article for the Clarion, I just want to let all who have read my words and have considered my opinions that it has been an honor to write for you.
Thank you for your kind words of “good job” in the many hallways of this institution. It has been a true pleasure and an honor and I will absolutely miss writing for you. Thank you and I value you all.
Now it’s time for those of us who are graduating to move on to the next adventure; always forward, never backward. We can do this because we are Sinclair Tartans and the heroes of our own story.
Justin A. Baker
Staff Writer