I remember the first story I wrote for the Advance-Titan. It was about 1980, and I had written for my high school newspaper so I thought I knew what I was doing. But this story was about pesticides used on campus, and I admit, even after interviewing multiple sources, I was confused. That confusion came through in my story. Let’s just put it this way — it wasn’t my best work.

Fast forward more than three decades and I’m back at the Advance-Titan, this time as adviser. Production nights are a little shorter than I remember, and quieter, too, since Mac computers and Adobe Creative Cloud have taken the place of typewriters, word processors and wax machines, the latter which were needed then to paste the columns of text on large paper dummies.

But the camaraderie among the staff hasn’t changed since my days in the basement of Radford Hall, where the A-T was then located. We are one big family, and I’m excited and very proud to be a part of that family.

I’m also excited and proud to be part of the committee that has helped plan the Department of Journalism’s 50th anniversary celebration, for we truly have a lot to celebrate: more than 2,800 graduates, about 87 percent of our students have one or more internships prior to graduation and, according to recent job placement data, 88 percent work in the field.

On behalf of the Department of Journalism, I invite you to join in our celebration, whether that be attending the free pro talks or media panels on Friday, to taking part in the Department and Advance-Titan open houses on Friday or Saturday. Check out the schedule to the right for times and locations. Many of our alumni — from ESPN, Axios and Politico, Facebook and many other major companies — will be here to share their stories and expertise.

Enjoy this special edition of the Advance-Titan that looks at the past and to the future of the Department. Here’s to 50 years of producing journalists whose expertise span multimedia and print, public relations, advertising, social media, photography and videography, and more. It’s been quite a ride — and one I have thoroughly enjoyed.