If you’ve learned anything from me, or anything from the Harding experience, I hope it’s the value of the people around you.

When it comes right down to it, every single column I’ve written has been about and inspired by the people around me. So much of creativity is about loving and listening and dreaming with the people you get to call friends, colleagues and fellow students.

For me, that has been my Bison staff. For the last two and a half years and the last 44 issues of the Bison, I’ve been surrounded by people who have shaped the way I think, the way I create and the way I share with my readers.

The Bison has been my favorite part of my Harding experience — not because of the resume material it has provided, not because of the pay and certainly not because of the “fame.” It’s been so sweet because of the incredible, passionate, intelligent and creative people I have worked with. Most of the tips I have given in this column don’t come from my mind; they come from observing the talented and dedicated people seated around me on deadline nights.

While I’d love for you to join the Bison staff next semester, that’s not the point. The biggest point I want to leave with you is the value of the people around you and the environment you get to work in.

The university setting is one many of us will never experience again. Just think about it: we get to be here, with a huge group of likeminded people, studying and learning together. It’s the perfect environment for creativity and innovation and human blossoming. Why do you think communities like Silicon Valley form? It’s because people want to be surrounded by people who are doing the same type of work.

The people we surround ourselves with serve as resources and support systems, but they also influence the ideas we have and the ways we learn and connect new information. We have all of that right here in Searcy: not in Silicon Valley or New York City or Los Angeles.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon the Bison and learn the true impact that plugging in can have, and I don’t want anyone to miss out on that.

No matter how much time you have left here, find the people who are like you. Find the people who inspire you and challenge you and will talk with you for hours about your ideas. I certainly did, and it made all the difference in the world.