It was 13 years ago that I found myself accepted to Youngstown State University in Youngstown State University. I had many dreams in my boyhood. Going to YSU was near the top of the list.

At the tender age of eight years, I told my art teacher, Mr. Anderson, that I wanted to go to Youngstown State when I grew up. He told me that I had plenty of time before that.

10 years later, this boyhood dream of mine was realized. YSU served as the setting for some of the most magical moments I’ve ever had and ever will have.

From the sun-drenched summer morning where I came onto the campus for the first time until the rain-swept Saturday afternoon in 2017 where I graduated, I enjoyed every minute… even if commencement went way too fast that spring day.

From all of the football games that I saw, including the overtime thriller in the third round of the FCS Playoffs my senior year, to all of the lessons I learned, to all of the friends I made and kept, I wouldn’t have traded those years away for anything else.

Wave for the Red and White! Go, YSU!

Dear Madison,
As you know, television news is an intense business. Murders, fires, funerals, anything you can shake a stick at… and those are the first 10 minutes of the newscast most nights.

However, there’s also a lot of negativity about how the news is presented. The heavy politicization of news can take its toll on any anchor person, no matter who it is.

However, despite the negativity that journalists get on a daily basis, your talent shines through, day in, day out. Your station is lucky to have you.

Any station in the country would be lucky to have you. I’m very fortunate that you and I are in the Youngstown Press Club together. When you and I took that selfie together, I knew this was the start of a great friendship.

As someone on the autism spectrum, making new friends is oftentimes easier said than done, but you were very warm and welcoming to me when we met at the Christmas party.

Bottom line: Madison, you are so damn talented.

Almost six years ago, I graduated from Youngstown State University with honors and a Bachelor’s Degree of Journalism. I majored in Journalism, but I always tell people that I had a double-minor at YSU. I technically minored in Communication, but I had another minor: Determination.

Being on the autism spectrum, I attended job counseling. Every week, my job counselor had me try my best to find leads on job openings in journalism. It’s a small field and it’s something that’s easier said than done because of it.

About a month and a half into job counseling, I applied for, and was granted a job interview for, a production assistant’s position at one of the local network affiliates in town.

Days turned to weeks, and the weeks stretched into a few months. By this point, I was well into spring and still had no job. It seemed bleak, but a college classmate of mine told me about a website he was writing for.

So, I applied. Initially, I was declined because I wasn’t in the market of a major Division I athletic program, but I mentioned to the person in charge of onboarding that I’m a fan in MMA and in the fight game, there’s no offseason, just off weekends.

On the strength of that alone, I was hired as an MMA writer. Had I not taken a chance on the fight game, I’m not sure where I’d be today. 2023 marks my sixth year of writing about MMA and my second of writing about soccer.

If you’re willing to take a risk on yourself, the payoff can be something amazing. GO FOR IT!

Dear Mrs. Shuster:
Even though it’s been close to 13 years since I left the halls of Lakeview High School, but you are still my favorite teacher of all-time in my academic career. When I was just eight years old, you introduced me to The Rich Center at Youngstown State.

When I was 10, I was moved to your classroom and enjoyed every minute of it. Several years later, you moved to the high school. At age 15, you had a front-row seat to my pimply adolescence and saw how advanced my sense of humor became.

Around all of the fun we had, as well as going through the trials and tribulations of surviving high school while on the autism spectrum, you and I became family.

I could just see how proud you were of me at graduation that spring day in 2010. You are the best teacher in Ohio, and I consider you my honorary mom.

You’re the best, Mrs. Shuster! I couldn’t have made it through high school without you.

Katie,
Many years ago, I knew I wanted to be a sports reporter. I grew up idolizing the stalwarts like Keith Jackson, James Brown, Jon Miller, et al. But I knew that just naming names wouldn’t even be close to enough.
When you and I became close friends, you were among the first people to see fire and potential in me. You said it yourself with four brief, yet powerful words: “I believe in you.” This was all I needed to know I had someone in my corner.
You saw potential in me before a couple of my professors did, and I thank you a million times over for that. Even when I was down on myself, you told me not to worry, as it would eventually turn around. When I was hired as an MMA writer at my first job, you celebrated with me. When I was close to hitting milestone numbers as far as my article count, you were rooting me on.
When I just wanted to talk about whatever it was that was on my mind, you were among the first people I would email, and it’s for this reason that I look forward to our conversations every single week, even when it seems that I have nothing to talk about.
As I graduated from Youngstown State and prepared to enter the working world, I asked you to be a reference for my resume. Happily, you said yes, and when I needed a letter of recommendation, I asked you. Happily, you said yes.
It took me a few years to realize how big of a role you played in my career, but I sat down in my room one night and thought it over.
Like a right hook from Edgar Berlanga in the Top Rank Boxing ring, it hit me: You, Katie, are my mentor. I’ve always rooted you on, just as you’ve supported me. We’ll always stick up for one another, through the best of times and the worst of times.
I wouldn’t trade my friendship with you for anything else in the world. It’s invaluable to me. There is no denying that you are the best person I know. You are a talented sports reporter and a true friend.
Thanks for always being in my corner.

I know there are times in our lives and in our world where it appears that people are out to get us, even though we think we’ve done nothing wrong. We do everything right, or so it would appear, and yet we still get reamed for it– even though we don’t even so much as deserve to be criticized for it.

I also know that there are times when we are faced with scary moments, but it’s within those scary moments that we can learn something from ourselves.

16 years ago, I was in the eighth grade, just a few short weeks away from moving onto high school. It was on that day where I felt comfortable enough to disclose that I was autistic to my classmates for the first time in my life.

Although I had the full support of my teacher that day and although the students who knew me knew I was mainstreamed, it still scared the hell out of me to tell the story.

I started to explain the fact that I had autism and some of the kids didn’t understand what the hell it was that I had been talking about. There were puzzled looks on some students’ faces, and the teacher quickly said “He has autism.”

Even though the students who I had been mainstreamed with knew I had special needs, they didn’t really know that it was autism… and it was because I kept it in for longer than I should have… but happily, each time I tell someone that I have autism, it gets progressively easier and thus, less scary to tell.

Although the fear of telling someone that I have autism doesn’t completely go away (hopefully it keeps going away with time,) that spring afternoon in 2006 served as a moment of clarity for me.

The moments where we, as people, are fearful the most, can also serve as moments where we can learn valuable lessons, and it’s those teaching moments that help us grow as people.

Thus, the big takeaway from this letter is simple:

You are stronger than you may think. All it takes is a little bit of smarts, a fair amount of guts, and a great deal of support.

If you have all three of those qualities, you’ll be going places.

What scares the hell out of us can also make for our most valuable lessons.

What are you waiting for? Get out there and inspire somebody! Good luck!