Throughout our academic careers, we are constantly paired up, put in groups and assigned people to work with—whether we connect with them or not is never the point. We are simply expected to share the workload and produce a result.
So when I applied to be co-Editor-in-Chief of The Villanovan during the fall semester of my junior year, I was terrified knowing that the fate of my future partnership lay in the hands of, well, anyone but me.
The idea of being assigned yet another random partner scared me. I dreaded the possibility of working with someone who was there just to add another line to their resume.
I have never been so thankful to have been proven so wrong.
My co-EIC, Nicole Liddicoat, thrives where I struggle and makes up for what I lack. Above all else, Nicole and I share one thing that can’t be taught in a partnership: passion.
When Nicole and I took over this publication in January of 2025 we came in with a simple vision: to leave The Villanovan better than we found it.
Since then, and with the help of all of our staff writers and incredible editorial board, we have produced three magazines, two-special editions, made national headline news on ESPN and broke the record for the largest ever print edition and magazine editions in Villanovan history.
These are goals that we came in with, but making those goals a reality didn’t happen overnight. There were countless meetings and delegation. There were many late nights in the basement of Corr. There were more spreadsheets and google docs than one could possibly fathom. And then there were the total hours we put in.
I can’t put an exact number of hours on it, but I can tell you this: I’ve been with Nicole at 6 a.m. as we chug a cup of coffee before getting right back into planning. I’ve walked to the Office of Student Involvement with Nicole every Monday afternoon for a full calendar year. I’ve also been with Nicole at 3 a.m. in the Villanovan office as we delusionally send off pages to the printing company, waiting to see what was once a passing idea over text turn into a vision for the entire Villanova community to see.
I could ramble on for ages about the growth we have both experienced, the success we have found or the mistakes that still haunt us—but the triumphs, the defeats—none of it would mean nearly as much if I had embarked on this journey with anyone else.
I’m proud to call Nicole my co-Editor-in-Chief, but more importantly, I’m proud to call her my friend.
Nicole—from the bottom of my heart—thank you for your dedication in ensuring that we are in fact leaving The Villanovan better than how we found it. Thank you for your innate ability to better every single thing you touch. But most importantly, thank you for showing me that partnerships not only have the potential to be effective, they have the power to fuel passion. I am better, and this publication is better, because of you.
