Tucked away in the heart of the Rollins Building is Room 118, also known as “the newsroom.” This is where students and faculty can find The Centurion newspaper headquarters, under the advisement of Professor Tony Rogers.

While this is a student-run paper with an entirely student-run staff, as everyone knows, all clubs must have an advisor—and this is where Professor Rogers, or as most people know him, “Tony,” comes in.

Most likely sitting in dim lighting, listening to an array of jazz music ranging from John Coltrane to RAYE, with his grey Vans and dark colored jeans, Tony can be found relaxing at his desk with a Core Power chocolate protein shake—his usual breakfast—as he awaits the revolving door of students who pass through his classroom as if it were a study hall.

Tony wasn’t always the engaging advisor found in the hallways of Bucks. His story begins as a young boy in Wisconsin. After obtaining his B.A. in journalism from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he went on to earn his M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and began his career as a full-time reporter, working for The Associated Press.

From 1993 to 1997, he worked at the New York Daily News, one of the nation’s largest newspapers, where he served as the Long Island bureau chief and later the deputy national news editor. He has also been a copy editor for the Philadelphia Daily News, a police reporter and copy editor for The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin, and a reporter for the Auckland Star in New Zealand. He is the author of Newswriting on Deadline, published by Allyn & Bacon/Longman, and the founder of the “Jazz at Bucks” concert series.

(Before you ask—yes, Professor, I stole all this information from your website.)

Somewhere in between all of that he met his wife, Minh who works as a highly rated doctor in the Temple network and they had two kids, Sean and Emma. Tony speaks very highly on his family, esepecially his wife who he loves to say is completely out of his league.

He has been teaching journalism at Bucks since 1997 and is the sole journalism professor at the college. Some might think one professor covering an entire degree program is a bit farfetched, but those people clearly don’t know Professor Rogers like I do.

Yes, as a future writer and reporter, everyone knows I’m breaking the cardinal rule of writing in the first person. But it’s my last issue as editor in chief, and this is the first time I’ve broken that rule, and I’d say it’s for a pretty valid reason: to speak highly of the professor who changed my life.

To start off, pulling this off was not easy by any means. Just to give a quick rundown of how The Centurion is submitted: I, as the editor, put the entire paper together (by myself) and submit the final pages to Professor Rogers, who then reviews them and decides whether it’s ready to send to the printer.

So, in order to pull this off, I had to create an entirely fake version of the paper with a different front-page story to send to Professor Rogers. Once he approved the “fake” version and revised it, I began working on the real one.

Not only would Professor Rogers not like me writing so informally for the paper, but he also wouldn’t like an entire story about himself as front-page news. But it’s my last issue as editor, so what can they do – fire me?

Anyway, I apologize for the back and forth between Tony and Professor Rogers. Everyone calls him Tony, but I call him Professor. It’s one of the few things I can do to show respect to the person who has believed in me more on certain days than I’ve believed in myself.

I’ve been the longest-running editor of The Centurion, and in that time, Professor Rogers has gone from my advisor, to my professor, to my mentor, to my dear friend. Without Professor Rogers, I wouldn’t have learned the writing skills that helped me earn not only Student Keystone Awards, but also my summer internship.

He’s pushed me when I needed it most. He’s listened to my countless rants about feeling old, washed up, and silly for still being in school. He reminds me, and all of his students, that nothing is impossible if you truly go for it.

He is the glue behind the newspaper, whether he likes to admit it or not.

Communications major Eme Yotko views Tony as “An inspiration to the next era of journalists here at Bucks and having him as a teacher has been the greatest pleasure.”

Although I’m very excited for the next chapter in my life, I’m also saddened that the shared space I have with Professor Rogers is coming to an end. All I hope is that future editors of The Centurion, who will work closely with him like I have, will have the same experience. I hope they value his insight and take his advice seriously. After all, you got pretty big shoes to fill. (kidding)

Last week, Professor Rogers told me, “I hope we keep in contact after you’re gone.” As if he could ever get rid of me. Besides, who else would I send my future stories to for editing?

Professor Rogers, it’s been one hell of a long year, and I quite literally wouldn’t be as successful in my career if it weren’t for you. I am eternally grateful for all that you’ve done for me, and I hope that as I continue on my path, I make you nothing but proud. Thank you definitely isn’t enough, but it’s a start. I hope I find even a fraction of you in every professor I meet going forward.

xoxo, your favorite Editor ever.

Kassandra Castillo

Editor in Chief