With the holiday season among us, many people take the time to be with friends and family, celebrating life and the past year. 

I will be doing no different in this article, except I will be praising my Old Gold & Black family. 

In August 2022, the Princeton Review ranked OG&B as #22 on their list of the best college newspapers in the US. We were the only newspaper in South Carolina to be ranked. This set the tone for the way the rest of the semester would operate. 

We were able to meet various influential people, including political leaders, talented musicians and professional journalists. We also piloted many events, seeing great success with each one.

We started the semester off strong with our “Orientation Issue.” This issue was geared towards the freshmen and those returning to Wofford, updating the campus on the changes that happened over summer break as well as acquainting the newcomers to their new home of Wofford College. 

This saw great success, as we ran out of papers within 48 hours, thanks to you, our remarkable readers! 

On Oct. 12, we hosted our first ever joint panel discussion with the Career Center, titled “Smalls Talk.” This discussion featured the 2019 James Beard Award, 1977 Tony Award and 1977 Emmy Award winner Alexander Smalls ’74. At the event, Smalls talked about his time at Wofford and life since then, answering audience questions at the end. 

The event saw a remarkable turnout of ar. Several freshmen attended the event, granting us exposure to the new class of writers. 

That same afternoon, the hard work of collaborating with the Office of Philanthropy + Engagement and the Office of Marketing and Communications paid off through a private press meeting with Smalls and Craig Melvin ’01, “TODAY Show” co-host.

This was a remarkable experience for our staff, and something that we will forever be grateful for (and maybe brag about). We were able to get to know Smalls’ and Melvin’s “Why Wofford,” make long-lasting connections and get to know them on a more personal level. 

Almost a week later, on Oct. 18, we got to meet Mike Pence, the 48th Vice President of the United States. Several of our staff and contributing members got to publicly ask Pence a question, including Woods Wooten ’23, Katie Kirk ’25 and Kayla Southwood ’26. 

Many other Old Gold & Black staff members were granted a press pass and could take a photo with Pence, including Wooten, Anna Lee Hoffman ’23 and myself. 

That next day, several of our staff members were also able to speak with South Carolina’s former gubernatorial candidate Joe Cunningham. 

We have also regularly received praise and constructive criticism over the past semester, allowing for an immense amount of growth, which is something that I have such gratitude for. 

On Dec. 2, we submitted many pieces to the annual South Carolina Press Association’s collegiate award contest. We are often winners of these awards and are excited to soon announce what we were chosen for. 

If you, our reader, finds yourself interested in joining us on this thrilling and award-winning journey, please consider applying. Our application went live on Dec. 5 and will remain open until Dec. 23. We will announce positions during Interim. Please see the QR code for a direct link to the application.  

Thank you for your consistent readership and support. We truly would not be as successful of a student publication if it were not for you. We at the Old Gold & Black would like to wish you a very happy holiday season. Talk to you next year!