Letter from the Managing Editor
Dearest readers,
Thank you for opening up our last regular issue of this semester. After 3 years of being obsessed with this magazine, it’s finally my turn to write a love letter to The Wake; buckle in for some sappiness.
The first time I heard of The Wake, I was a bright-eyed freshman who was itching to find a place where I felt at home. I attended an activities fair with my friends, signing up left and right for club newsletters that now go directly into my spam folder. I remember thinking that the girl running The Wake’s table was really pretty, and in an effort to woo her, I gladly wrote my email down to be contacted.
Despite the welcoming environment, I still managed to almost pass out from nervousness at the first pitch meeting I attended. When the time came to pick up stories, I raised my trembling hand and used my shaky little 18-year-old voice to choose a story from the Voices section. That article still hangs on my wall as a reminder of how proud I was the first time I got an article published.
Later that year, I quit the on-campus job that I hated to accept an unpaid internship at The Wake, gaining the shiny title of “Features Intern.” I wrote one feature by myself that semester before COVID hit: a deep-dive into the world of online sex work and OnlyFans. The night before my draft was due, I sat in Hard Times Cafe for six hours (writing the entire thing in one sitting, of course) and made my roommate endlessly reassure me that I wasn’t a terrible writer. When the feature came out, my mom and I celebrated in quarantine and split a two gallon bottle of wine to commemorate my hard work and tears.
Two years, countless features, and some much appreciated paychecks later, The Wake is still as near and dear to my heart as it was when I started going to pitch meetings. It’s a reminder that you can do things that aren’t in line with your career and that you can do things simply because they make you happy. It’s been a constant in my time at the U when not much else was, and I’m endlessly grateful to have been part of such a wonderful organization.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for bearing with my sentimentality. Happy reading, and I hope that afterwards, you are as obsessed with The Wake as I am.
Much love,
Jemma Keleher
Managing Editor