Journalism is so much more than just a job.

In university, students are often told, more like warned, about becoming journalists. Oftentimes people are told to be careful and that newspapers are a dying industry. They are also told that people are getting their news online and that nobody cares about picking up a paper anymore. It can be quite disheartening to hear.

Many of us get in the career because we love to write and we love to write stories about the community for the community. It truly comes down to the people. That’s why we do what we do.

Yes, journalists aren’t paid a ton of money like those in business or the health professions, but boy are we paid a lot in knowledge and in experiences.

It’s amazing, because you can feel like the richest person in the world as a journalist. It has got to be one of the most enriching careers. We get to do so many incredible things. Going behind the scenes of big concerts, getting to be a part of huge milestones in our different locations, celebrating wins and mourning losses. When things happen, we are there.

The immediacy of news is huge. This generation is getting news at their fingertips. They log in to Facebook and can scroll through the news that way, they can go online and see breaking news, it’s everywhere.

So while the Express closes its doors, it’s important for the community to know that we were more than just a newspaper, we were like a family working together to put out a great product. There are so many working parts to a newsroom. It really does take a village. It’s a camaraderie like no other.

Many people that work in the news industry aren’t from that specific place they are working in. It’s a diverse range of places that people are from. There’s a range of people from out east that move for their jobs, leaving their family and friends behind. Skype becomes a great tool in the way of communication.

So as we at the Express say goodbye, we wanted to say thank you one last time to our readers, to the people that make this community so great and who have kept us doing what we’re doing.