Every dank, windowless office can use a little laughter to lighten the mood, and there are few things I enjoy more than making people laugh. Being part of the Daily Bruin helped me realize that.
As the managing editor last year, I aimed to facilitate an environment of creative freedom. I strived to help maintain the paper’s history of integrity and excellence. But above all, I wanted to ensure that the office was a place where people truly wanted to be.
It’s very easy to get lost in the bustle of the workday.
But when spending seven- to nine-hour intervals in an isolated, wall-facing cubicle, sorting through angry emails about faulty crossword solutions and telling disheartened staffers that their articles aren’t printable, you realize the importance of finding the humor in things.
I tried to lighten the mood whenever I could, starting spontaneous Styrofoam snowball fights, mandating Nutella club initiations, providing sardonic commentary at our daily content meetings and contributing many infamous quips to our wall of Post-it quotes.
And when people smiled, I smiled too.
I found the greatest happiness in that of my fellow staffers, relishing their achievements – both their awards and their growth as journalists and people.
Before ever stepping foot on the UCLA campus, 18-year-old, newly admitted me was already set on joining the Daily Bruin and continuing my pursuit of photography.
Back then, I had no idea what joining the Daily Bruin would mean for me.
During my time as a Bruin, there was only one week that I wasn’t a part of the Daily Bruin staff – that’s how deeply ingrained my Daily Bruin experience has been in my college career.
The experience has been one of the greatest and most challenging experiences of my life.
I’ll never forget the excitement of my first photo in print, the primal shriek I let out at the Sheraton hotel in Chicago when prime magazine won its first Pacemaker award, the paralyzing fear as I watched Reeves Nelson chuck a basketball toward me through my viewfinder or the rush of racing down the Rose Bowl sidelines with my camera body and 300mm lens slung over my back.
Thank you to the editors that pushed and believed in me. Thank you to my photo mentees who made me more proud than I could have ever imagined. And thank you to a staff that put up with my yearlong, sub-par stand-up comedy routine.
Our adventures in the mysteriously-stained Kerckhoff 118 are memories I’ll never forget.
Smahl was prime magazine photo editor from 2012-2013, managing editor from 2011-2012, assistant photo editor from 2010-2011 and a photo contributor from 2009-2010.
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