With a fresh set of ideas backed by unbridled ambitions, junior Tom Wilder is carrying The Lamron into the 2009-2010 school year as editor-in-chief.
Wilder was born and raised in Ithaca, of two '84 Geneseo alumni who fell in love as undergrads, where he attended a competitive public high school surrounded by Cornell prospects.
Wilder held a wide range of interests as a student, from architecture to technology - two passions that he still appreciates today. "I used to be really into architecture," he said. He attended a national conference with his middle school tech class, and as a high school upperclassman he took architecture classes in Cornell.
Likewise, Wilder explored a variety of majors in college before settling on communication and the journalism/media studies track. He enrolled in Geneseo for business administration, switched to math and education in his second semester, and entered into communication as he began to make his name in The Lamron.
While his first encounter with journalism was at age seven in elementary school, writing for a bi-monthly newspaper and once interviewing the chief scientist of the Mars Rover mission, Wilder started at Geneseo as a staff photographer in freshman year and signed on as a sports reporter a year later.
As a junior, he further advanced his initiative by taking on the sports editor position. "This year has been a lot of fun," he said. "The section has progressed and I've enjoyed watching it progress both in content and design."
Wilder said that the experience, which he initially pursued as a resume-builder, has far exceeded his expectations and ultimately confirmed the path he plans to follow into a career in sports media.
"It's fun just seeing a tangible product that you created yourself in a week," Wilder said. "Knowing that you are able to do that and that thousands of people are reading it just makes you kind of proud."
With growing confidence and competence in his work as a section editor, Wilder turned his sights toward editor-in-chief after putting his copy-editing skills to the test midyear, proving to himself that he was qualified for the position on all levels.
In the months thereafter, Wilder proceeded to prove these qualifications to fellow members of the editorial board. "I hadn't really applied myself to the paper sophomore year," he said. "I'm proud of the way that I finally really gave it my all."
With his recent election to the top position on the Lamron e-board, he said, "I'm a little bit apprehensive; I still haven't done it yet, so I'm uncertain as to how I'm going to do. But once I get my feet wet, it's just going to be a fun ride from there."
And Wilder has already filled this ride with a myriad of aspirations. Not only does he expect the paper to keep expanding in content, quality and readership, but he also ultimately hopes to bring the e-board to an Associated Collegiate Press national conference in Austin, Texas next fall.
"I'm really looking forward to working with everybody," Wilder said. "I think everybody is a really good fit for their position. There's still some carry-over from this year, and I had the time of my life this year - I expect it to be the same."