Invasion of Privacy: An appreciative tribute and farewell to Nick Widman

Here at The Lamron, we’ve recently suffered a great loss—the graduation of our beloved Nick Widman, English major, class of ‘21, and former editor-in-chief. Over the past three years, Widman has made an impact on our paper that will not soon be forgotten.

While Widman’s Lamron career officially started in 2019, Widman had been preparing since childhood for the work that they would someday do at Geneseo. “I used to play sports, but I was never good at them,” said Widman. “I always wanted to be an English major…but I also loved sports. I wanted to combine the two, and it worked out.”

Widman participated in basketball and football during their childhood and went on to coach basketball with their dad for all four years of high school. Widman cited their Buffalo heritage and attachment to teams like the Bills, Sabres and Yankees as another factor that invoked their passion for sports.

Beyond their brief coaching stint, Widman described themself as being pretty quiet and reserved throughout most of high school. “I kind of came to college being like, ‘Oh God, this is a huge jump for me,’” said Widman. Upon arriving at college, they became grounded in a routine of taking classes, keeping up with friends, and trying to find the time to make it to the gym. This routine, however, could only keep itself up for so long—Widman soon began to search for a new hobby or activity to occupy their time.

“I was getting kind of bored, and I needed something that I enjoyed more [to be a] part of the school.”

In their sophomore year, Widman began writing for the sports section of The Lamron, and quickly became a full-time writer and assistant editor for sports. The following year, Widman would graduate to the official sports editor, briefly preparing them for their imminent career as editor-in-chief.

“It was kind of a huge jump for me…but I handled it pretty fine after a while, and I started to enjoy it.”

One of the primary aspects that Widman focused on in describing their experience as editor-in-chief was the acclimation to the grind of a committed journalist. 

“Overall, it’s been fun. I needed to adjust to some things, like experiencing what it’s like to have what is almost like a full-time career, [and] what it’s like to be a journalist. It’s a lot of time crunch and pressure, but also freedom, and you make friends along the way.”

Despite the initial struggle accompanying the commitment of editor-in-chief, Widman found a way to persevere and explore some of the benefits of this position—they continually emphasized their appreciation for the bonding that they experienced during their time at The Lamron with e-board members and writers alike, especially when meetings were able to be held in-person.

“The biggest thing was the bonds, hanging out with people and having a nice time,” said Widman. “[Working] together on this one thing, and then when it was done it was this huge accomplishment. It [felt] great.”

While the bonds that Widman created were one of the elemental benefits of this position, Widman went on to cite the lessons that they felt their work as editor-in-chief had taught them. Widman spoke extensively about the responsibility, accountability, and confidence that working at The Lamron provided them with.

One particular takeaway that Widman reflected upon was enhanced skill in interviewing and communication—a skill that many writers and students often feel could be strengthened in their lives and careers. “It’s helped me become a much more social and confident person,” said Widman. “In the beginning, when I started, I was intensely afraid to interview someone, but now it’s sort of second nature.”

“You can do things, and you can probably excel at things, but you’ve gotta put in what you can and just do it.”

As our interview went on, Widman spoke to their reflections on memories of their life and attitudes prior to their Lamron career—they characterized this time as one in which they were nervous to take on a great deal of responsibility or think about life after college. However, The Lamron seems to have instilled them with confidence, connections and passions that they had not had access to before.

“It was good to experience being a leader and being EIC [editor-in-chief], because I was never very confident that I was good at being a leader because I’m more of a quiet person,” said Widman. “But I kind of ran with it, and eventually it was fun.”

Now that their time at Geneseo and The Lamron has ended, Widman is moving onto bigger and brighter things. They are currently applying for local Geneseo jobs, as well as internships at larger presses and companies. Similar to the experiences that they had at The Lamron, Widman hopes to find some connections in this work that might propel them into a career in journalism.

In the meantime, Widman hopes to fill their days writing, playing with dogs, and watching their favorite teams succeed in their respective seasons. Here at The Lamron, we wish Nick all the best, and can’t wait to see what they do next!