Goodbye, Hokies Journal

When I was assigned to cover Virginia Tech, I really didn’t know what to expect. The only thing I was sure of was that I would be moving to Blacksburg, Va. Then I had to find it on a map.

Since then, I learned more than I could have envisioned about Virginia Tech. Granted, I still don’t know what a Hokie is, but I now know that you recognize it when you see it: Frank Beamer loyal, Bud Foster tough, Seth Greenberg competitive. I watched a lot of football (a certain game against Nebraska sticks out). I watched a lot of basketball. And as kid from the Northeast, I learned a little about barbecue and people with manners.

But after a year covering Virginia Tech, I will be stepping away from The Washington Post and pursuing other opportunities.

There are too many people I’d like to thank publicly for welcoming me to Blacksburg and to this beat. Whether they were my fellow scribes who cover the Hokies or fine folks at Virginia Tech, I owe a debt of gratitude to them all for their kindness and helpfulness in my first year covering the Hokies. I will miss many of them, and I will never forget the past year. I grateful for the awesome opportunity I had to cover the university, its athletic program and the class group of people there.

I’m hopeful my departure from The Post’s Virginia Tech beat doesn’t mean I have covered the Hokies for the last time. Either way, I’ll be keeping an eye out for those maroon helmets in the fall and for a sideline appearance by the HokieBird at the NCAA tournament in the winter.

Finally, thank you all for reading. It has been a privilege.