In a few months, I am expected to graduate from the University of Waterloo. And with all the crazy changes that have happened to me these past five years, only a few things remained constant. One of those things was being a member of the Iron Warrior.
I remember back when I was in first year looking for a club while being online during the COVID-19 pandemic. I told myself I wanted to join something that I could stick with. Eventually, my friend Sam was encouraging others to join the Iron Warrior that were interested in writing. I’d had a passion for writing stories and content back in high school, so I figured I would take a swing at being a part of this.
I recall the first article I ever wrote. It was about who was the greatest basketball player between LeBron James and Michael Jordan after James won his fourth NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2019-20 NBA season. I had no clue what a word limit was (and still sometimes forget from time to time) and just wrote whatever was on my mind about it.
Keep in mind, since we were online, there were no physical copies being produced and we simply posted on our website (crazy to look back at that). Over the next few terms, I began writing more about basketball, music, and entertainment. It was a pretty chill environment, with there being around six to eight members planning out articles to write about via Discord calls.
However, at some point, I decided I wanted to take a leadership role in my second year, as I became the editor-in-chief (EIC) of the Iron Warrior for the first time during my 2B term. And man, was it rough to say the least.
At that point, classes were back to being fully in-person, and with that, I was placed in an environment that I wasn’t prepared for to begin with. I had to learn how to manage a club budget, access an office space, assign weekly meeting times to meet at the Iron Warrior office, and more. I appreciate the past editor-in-chiefs guiding me with the transitioning process and documentation, but I know I could have done a better job with my first stint as EIC.
To make matters worse, a lot of the older members were graduating, and fewer members were joining. And there was still not a plan of sorts to get physical copies of our articles back in the racks around campus. It was to the point that there were technically only two official members in the Spring 2023 term (thank you Julia for holding it down back then).
I didn’t want this to be the end of the club. By my 3B term, it was my second time to be the EIC. This time, I organized a decent budget, recruited more members via engineering and WUSA club fairs, and had a better outline on how to publish copies. Even though it was a bit delayed, the Iron Warrior finally released their first 100 copies of a fall issue for the first time since the start of 2020. And I was happy to be a part of that process.
By 2024, there was a group of core members who came together to devise better strategies to release issues more frequently and find more people to join the team. The Iron Inquisition, a segment where we ask people unique questions, came back via our Instagram Reels and published issues. We got people to do crosswords, create advice columns, design new covers for upcoming issues, take high-quality photos of events around campus, you get the idea.
Today, the Iron Warrior is publishing three issues per term with a fairly-sized team of writers, editors, photographers, and artists. This team consists of not just engineers but also students from non-engineering programs such as Global Business and Digital Arts, Life Physics, and more. I always feel very warm inside talking with engineers younger than me saying they love reading the Iron Warrior issues. It feels good that I am leaving Waterloo knowing the newspaper is in good hands with the team we have currently.
And before I wrap up, I wanted to give a shoutout to a fair share of people who helped me throughout my tenure in the newspaper. Thank you to Nela Jankechova (Systems 23’), Kirsten Ehlers (Biomedical 23’), Ratan Varghese (Computer 21’), Ewan Simms (Management 24’), and Ella Walsh (Biomedical 24’) for helping me learn about how to be an effective EIC and how to transition into being one for in-person meetings.
Thank you to my friend from biomedical engineering, Sam Suys, for being the one who introduced me to the club in the first place. I am truly grateful for being in the club thanks to you.
And I want to thank everyone who I am currently working with at the moment in terms of developing these issues right now. More specifically, thank you to Julia Suljak, Cathy Quan, and Chloé Guillemette for helping me bring the Iron Warrior back from the dead, especially this past year. I’m so glad I got to work with all of you for these past few terms.
All in all, I am glad I got to be a part of the Iron Warrior for these five years during my undergrad. I got to express myself through writing, play a role in bringing back physical copies in our racks, and lead a team from time to time.
For anyone who wants to express themselves through writing, photography, art, or social media, come help grow the Iron Warrior for future terms to come.
And once again, thank you for everything. Peace.
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