Retirement is just around the corner

By Larry Hook
Adviser of The Lookout

My time as adviser of The Lookout is winding down. After nearly 21 years as the overseer of LCC’s student newspaper, I will be retiring on Jan. 31 of this year.

When I started at The Lookout as adviser in 2004, I never thought I would be in that position for so long. The job really has been a dream come true for me for a lot of reasons.

As an LCC student back in the early 1980s, I served as the sports editor of The Lookout. It was where I got my start in journalism, a profession that I stayed with throughout my entire career. It was where I overcame my fear of speaking in public, talking to girls and sharing my feelings through writing.

It was where I learned to be a photographer. It was where I learned that the A.P Stylebook is the journalist’s “bible.”

Most importantly, it was where I met my wife, Carolyn.

In those days, the newspaper was built by hand using wax, X-acto knives, hairline tape and photo paper. I built my own sports pages, but always hated the process of putting hairline tape around the photos. Carolyn, the staff cartoonist and the twin sister of then-Editor Marilyn Hobrla, saw me struggling with the hairline process and offered to help me.

That’s how we met. We were married in 1986 and have been happily married for 38 1/2 years. We have three wonderful children: Nolan, 31; Brendan, 28; and Danielle, 25, all of whom attended LCC and are now successfully working in the “real world.” It was awesome that they were able to drop in and see me on a regular basis at The Lookout while they were LCC students.

I owe so much to The Lookout. During my tenure as adviser, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with so many amazing students. Out newspaper has won countless awards over the past two decades, including first-place “general excellence” awards in six of the past eight years.

Many former student-employees of The Lookout have gone on to successful careers in journalism, marketing, public relations and other related fields. Three of them – David Barker, Nikki Nicolaou and Joe Strother – are currently employed at LCC.

I feel a lot of pride when any of my former students find success in these fields, or in life in general. I stay in touch with many of them through Facebook, and love to hear about their professional accomplishments.

I likely will write one more column about some of my favorite memories of The Lookout next week. Thanks to everyone who has made the past 20-plus years fly by like a breeze.