‘Enjoy every moment’: Norman-native news editor Ismael Lele reflects on finding his place in newsroom

For my entire freshman year, I viewed the Daily as this elusive place that I wasn’t good enough for. I applied three times but never heard back. I assume it's because the desks were full at the time, but I just took it as evidence I was not good enough. I probably should have just walked in like I see so many other people do now, but I wasn’t that kind of guy then. 

In regards to journalism, I didn’t learn much my freshman year. Out of fear of wasting another year of college, I felt like I had to be a part of something as I entered sophomore year. 

Before walking into the Daily for the fall 2022 open house, I made sure to put on my best outfit at the time, thinking it was going to be a formal event. I was determined to get a spot somewhere.

I entered the newsroom for the first time to see dozens of people chatting up a storm. I stood there for a minute not knowing where I should go or who I should talk to. 

I still had no idea what I wanted to do, so when I was approached by Silas Bales, the culture editor at the time, I fumblingly told him that I wanted to do news, to which he introduced me to the news managing editor, Alexia Aston. 

I was intimidated by her demeanor and didn’t know what to say. All I managed to say was, “Hi,” before it was time for people to fall in line with the desk they wanted to join. 

As people were chatting, I saw a group of men who I thought looked easier to approach. I walked over and started speaking to the sports editor, Mason Young. There, I met the other sports editors at the time, Colton Sulley and Austin Curtright. 

Those three taught me how to actually write a story during my first semester at the Daily. 

That fall, I covered OU’s volleyball team. It was a fun experience. I enjoyed getting ready to go to games and the trial and error of producing a story for a sport I had no idea how to write about. 

As the semester neared its end, I realized that, albeit fun, writing about sports wasn’t what I wanted to get out of journalism.

I have to credit newsroom adviser Seth Prince for helping me understand that it was okay to try different things at the Daily and that now was the perfect time to be confused about life. The next semester I transferred to the news desk. 

Though I didn't find what I was looking for in sports, it was there I met Gracie Rawlings and Carolyn Lien, who were the first friends I ever made at the Daily. And though I never went back to sports, I feel like I'll always be connected to that desk because of the friendships I made with those two.

When I transferred over to news, I got to have a proper introduction to Alexia, who helped me get my start on the desk.

During this semester, I also met Peggy Dodd, Anusha Fathepure, Thomas Pablo, Ana Barboza, Maddy Keyes, Karoline Leonard and Jazz Wolfe. 

These journalists taught me so much about journalism, from city politics to personal profiles to breaking coverage and even environmental reporting. 

I was assigned the city beat alongside Peggy, who taught me the importance of community journalism. I remember stumbling into my first city council meeting wearing my second best outfit at the time, barely tracking what was going on but noticing how efficient she was with her writing. 

I felt very isolated growing up in Norman, and I didn't interact with the community the way I could have. This led me to believe Norman was a boring place where not much happened. 

After being assigned the city beat, I realized just how much goes on in the town I grew up in. I was captivated by the back and forth from council members as they discussed one issue after another, and I felt the passion from the residents who begged their representatives to hear their voices. 

And it was the passion that I really understood because why wouldn’t someone care about the place they live? Why wouldn’t anybody be passionate enough to want to understand what their city council members were voting on, or discussing? 

An informed community is essential for its growth, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to inform other people. The people who show up to council meetings aren’t the only ones who want to know what's going on. Sometimes time doesn’t permit someone to attend a two-hour meeting on a Tuesday evening, much less three, or four and, hey, maybe even eight hours. 

I found myself explaining things to my friends and family who weren’t involved in journalism. And just like me, they were surprised to hear that Norman was actually pretty interesting, with so much more depth than it lets on. 

Within my Islamic community, I understood there was stigma around journalism and how it portrays certain demographics. But when speaking to people in my circle about the work I was doing, they would light up at the fact that someone they knew was involved in something they felt ostracised from. 

Their reaction only made me more comfortable with my decision to cover news. Because just like the residents at city council, there were people in my closer circle longing for someone to hear their voice, and knowing I could be one of those people was comforting to them. 

No matter how much I struggled at the Daily, deep down I knew it was all worth it and that there was no better place at OU to learn how to be a journalist. 

Diving deeper into journalism 

After a rough summer, I entered my junior year on crutches. Literally, because I tore my ACL a month prior. 

I spent the semester on the city beat again. I was still growing as a reporter, trying to balance my schedule between school and my outside life. I look back on this semester wishing I had done more because there were stories I let fall through and things I missed that I otherwise shouldn’t have. 

But still, I was able to help produce stories that served the Norman community or were at least relevant to the most discussed issues at the time, such as the topic of homelessness and the OG&E franchise agreement. 

Before that semester ended, I was excited to continue on as a reporter in the spring. During my phone interview for senior news reporter, I remember Peggy telling me that I was going to be an editor at some point, which really caught me off guard. 

“Nah, you’re tripping right?” I said to myself. 

 The next semester, I found myself on the editorial board. I still felt like the new guy on the news desk, and I didn’t feel at all qualified for the position. Looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened for me and my development. 

Before the spring 2024 semester, I wasn’t thinking as critically as I could have when it came to journalism, so getting to work more closely with former editor-in-chief Karoline Leonard, Peggy and Anusha was a transformative experience. I was understanding my community more and the weight journalism can have.  

I was learning something new every day. At this point, spending time at the Daily was much more beneficial to my development than whatever I was learning, or not learning, in class. 

My first two semesters on news had helped me realize the importance of journalism and keeping the community informed, but my first semester on ed board made me realize how much more careful journalists have to be when reporting on sensitive topics. Journalism was much more complicated than I had initially thought. 

I learned to speak with people with more grace, how to help other reporters manage their workload and give advice on who to pursue as a source for stories I wasn’t writing. 

I remember being so nervous when I started. I remember not knowing if I was doing a good enough job, but now that I'm comfortable and about to leave, I feel so excited for the future of the Daily and everyone who will be returning next year.  

Thank you, everyone

Growing up, I never felt like I had much ambition. I idolized athletes and superstars, like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who exude this “win no matter what” attitude. That “I’m that guy” persona. But that trait was something I admired and never resonated with. I’m such a fan of things, so I loved to watch extraordinary people do extraordinary things from afar. Having those figures in my life really helped inspire me.

But what inspired me more was to find people in my life who could be my real superstars. That's who my friends are at the Daily. That's who Peggy, Anusha, Gracie, Ana and Thomas are. 

I love my friends, even though they refused to do College Bowl with me. (Except for copy editor Ryan Little, so shout out to him.)

Every time I get a nice card or letter from friends or family, I tape it to the top shelf of my room’s desk, so if I'm ever stressed or second-guessing myself, I can look up and see what really matters. On that desk I have cards from brothers, cousins, aunts and close friends. As I’m writing this, I’m looking at the latest card I was given, from my friends at the Daily who gifted it to me on my birthday. 

I’m going to miss seeing Mary Ann Livingood, Grace Rhodes, Avery Avery, Sophie Hemker and Josh McDaniel sitting behind me at the copy desk. 

I’m going to miss seeing Sutton Spinner come in and out of the newsroom to do his chemistry homework and to upload photos after shooting a game or event. 

I’m going to miss Seth’s “ITVI’s” and overhearing Peggy laugh in Seth’s office. 

I’m going to miss overhearing Willie Gillespie record the latest severe weather video and seeing Cassidy Martin go in and out of the recording studio to edit whatever video needed to be published. 

I’m going to miss Annie Davenport talk about her love for photography, and I’ll even miss hearing her make a sly remark about literally anything I do. 

I’m going to really miss only partially reading the monthly book for the Daily’s book club (I’m a co-founder by the way, but this is disputed among news editors) and still showing up to meetings to provide input. 

I’m going to miss leaving the mosque on Fridays and rushing back to the newsroom only to be told, “There’s a suspicious package in front of Gaylord Hall,” or, “There are several wildfires in East Norman,” or, “A sitting city council member was charged with embezzlement,” 

Yes, all those stories came out on a Friday. 

I’m gonna miss everyone. 

I have never felt as connected, close, or important to any one place before. I didn’t feel this way about any of my basketball teams or clubs I was a part of which is what makes leaving so much harder. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel as close to a place like I do to the Daily.  

A part of me is sad that there aren’t any more semesters I can look forward to. It's really hard because I feel like I found a place and a group of people I enjoy being around just a little too late into my college journey. But I understand that you can’t linger on things for too long. I try not to say goodbye to people because it implies an ending, but I've come to understand that endings aren’t a bad thing. In fact, endings are the most important part of the story. They don’t have to be the best part, but they are the most important. When done right, an ending can encapsulate the entire thesis of what an author is trying to convey. 

That's why I refuse to watch Game of Thrones. 

I can only tell anyone coming to work here, or anyone still here with time left in their college journey, to enjoy every moment. The bad moments make you stronger, and the good moments make it all worth it. 

I'm content knowing it's okay that it's time to go because I'm just really happy that I got to be here. 

Shoutout OU Daily.