After four years of service and over 180 articles published, Jacob Knipes, a senior majoring in political science, is calling it a career with Pipe Dream.

“It still hasn’t fully processed for me how my time as a Bearcat will soon be at an end,” Knipes wrote in this article. “Going about these last four years, life at BU just felt like a constant. Yet nothing in life truly lasts forever, and it has been difficult grappling with that reality as I near graduation.”

The current assistant sports editor first took up the pen his freshman year, joining as a contributor for both the News and Arts & Culture sections. In these capacities, Knipes wrote three to four articles on average per week. Knipes’ quick acclimation to newswriting caught the attention of then-News Editor Riccardo Monico, who suggested Knipes join the section as an intern.

“Those first few months living away from home were one of the most difficult periods of my life,” Knipes wrote. “The shift to a new lifestyle at college was far less refreshing, and far more difficult than I could have imagined. During this time, writing served as both escapism, as well as a form of orientation to the Binghamton community.”

After some shifts in leadership that raised Hamza Khan to the head of the News section, Knipes began his second semester for Pipe Dream as a news intern under Khan. There, Knipes was able to immerse himself in the production process under the tutelage of one of the hardest-working editors Pipe Dream had ever seen. Continuing to put his nose to the grindstone, Knipes soon positioned himself to leap from intern to news editor heading into his sophomore year.

Now running the section that he had merely been a contributor for a year prior, Knipes lasered in on building out his section’s talent pool and setting it up for the future. While his personal writing took a backseat to his administrative tasks, Knipes managed to put out the article he deems his magnum opus, “Behind EqualityAlley.”

“I don’t think I have ever been more consumed by a single article than I was during the writing process of ‘Behind EqualityAlley,’” Knipes wrote. “Everything from how I first learned of Oliver Horne’s story, to conducting a near hourlong interview, to taking nearly two weeks to finally produce a finished product. There isn’t a piece of reporting I am prouder of than that one.”

Yet every rose has its thorns, and the stress and demands of the position soon affected other Knipes’ ability to connect to the world and people around him. The true wake-up call came toward the end of his sophomore year, when Knipes fell short in a bid to become editor-in-chief.

After one door closed, however, several windows began to open for Knipes. Knipes began to pour more energy into his work with the Binghamton Policy Project. As blueprint editor, he transformed BPP’s year-end policy publication from a crowdsourced, poorly circulated digital zine to a 1,000-copy, professionally designed print publication. At the same time, Knipes managed to see through a policy that instituted a UNIV 111 class about the local area for first-year students.

“There are few things I am prouder of than the time I have spent at BPP,” Knipes wrote. “I truly do consider my lasting legacy on this campus to be every single edition of the Blueprint that reaches print stands in the years to come.”

Meanwhile, Knipes pivoted to a new role at Pipe Dream — assistant sports editor. Just as he had done two years prior, Knipes went full force into pure content creation to become a lead beat writer for several of BU’s sports. In this role, Knipes covered the first ever America East title for women’s cross country in 2023 and became the first-ever Pipe Dream sports writer to report on a road AE playoff game for men’s basketball in person.

“I wasn’t sure what to make of it when I first accepted the role, but it has been an honor to be a Sports writer,” Knipes wrote. “If you told me two years ago that I would become the lead writer for our men’s basketball team, I wouldn’t have believed it, and now I can’t imagine my college experience without it.”

Most significantly, however, Knipes’ shift away from Pipe Dream led him to a new passion in higher education. Working as a senior tour guide, an orientation advisor and a community assistant, he found a love for connecting college students to their best lives in a way that he wasn’t able to as a freshman. He anticipates a role of resident director in the near future.

Breaking a third-person perspective for a minute, I have some thanks I want to give.

To my parents and grandparents, I want to thank all four of you for constantly supporting me in every way possible for the last 22 years. I love you guys more than I may ever properly express.

To Hunter, Natural Disasters for life. I know that in 40 years we will still be able to rely on each other no matter where we are.

To Erica and Massimo, thank you for making my last semester and a half here the most fun time I have had as a college student. With you two, I feel like I have had some semblance of what a college experience actually is. If I’m not here next year, I’ll miss you two most of all.

To Riccardo, Hamza, Mel and Sam, thank you all for making my most formative years as a college student and as a member of Pipe Dream nostalgic. Mac and Cheese Fest isn’t the same without you, Sam.

To Johnny, good luck with Digital. Thanks for putting up with my late articles.

To Gabe, good luck with Sports — you got this.

Lastly, to our readers. You may not know who I am, but you have likely read at least one of my articles at some point during the last four years. Thank you for giving me your time — I hope I made it enjoyable.

In case I don’t see ya — good afternoon, good evening and good night.

Jacob Knipes, a senior majoring in political science, is an assistant sports editor. He was Pipe Dream’s news editor from 2022-23.