Wolf: Hack preaches patience, not to let others dictate your path
As he reflects on his college experience, Zak Wolf encourages others to be patient and to dictate their own path. Collage by Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
Sitting alone in the JMA Wireless Dome press box, it finally hit me. This was it.
Amid my emotions, there was a sense of pride and satisfaction as I finished writing about Joey Spallina becoming Syracuse’s all-time points leader. Then, the reality set in. It’d be the final time getting that gratification writing for The Daily Orange.
No more completely rewriting a runner within minutes. No last-second rush to a press conference in the bowels of Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. No more battling to ask as many postgame questions as possible.
After reading my piece, I took a moment for myself. There’s a calmness to an empty press box. It’s where I feel at home. It also shows who’s willing to push themselves a little extra to perfect their stories. And over four years with The D.O., I’d like to think I did a pretty good job at that.
This was a story I always dreaded writing. For me, Hacks didn’t just signal seniors graduating. It meant I was one year closer to my time. And after 568 stories, I’m not sure I’m ready to leave this place.
Was my time with The D.O. perfect? No. But it taught me the art of patience and staying true to myself. It also gave me relationships that will last a lifetime — I’m looking at you Justin Girshon, Aiden Stepansky and Cooper Andrews. Without The D.O., my life would look a lot different, and I’m glad I don’t have to live that reality.
But I almost did. I nearly quit as an assistant editor during my sophomore year. I was shitty at my job, and I wasn’t having fun. My mistakes were abundant. I couldn’t spell for shit (some might argue I still can’t). My grammar sucked, and overall, I just wasn’t a good assistant. Every mistake snowballed, and I grew self-conscious, knowing Cooper would get Sports Editor (not that I deserved it).
On top of that, my social life was lacking. It felt like a repeat of high school, where I struggled to find things to do on weekends. Being under 21 and not in a fraternity at Syracuse doesn’t have much to offer. Even then, my Friday and Saturday nights were blocked off to edit coverages.
The tasks grew mundane. Yes, I came to Syracuse to polish my journalistic skills. I also wanted to have a good time.
I didn’t rush a fraternity because I started working in-house, despite my freshman friend group (and my family) advising against it. For six months, the noise continued. I was under a constant slew of “Zak you work too much” and “Zak you never have fun.” Eventually, it got to my head. I decided to rush a fraternity in the spring and put The D.O. on the back burner for a semester. What an idiot, right?
I don’t know when or why I flipped back. It could’ve been a late-night FIFA session with my friend Dennis DiSantis or a night of drinking beers with Jonah Wassersug, Brad Smith and Max Statman. Maybe it was a D.O. party with Justin, Cooper and Aiden and the subsequent hang-out on Anthony Alandt and Connor Smith’s porch.
If I wanted journalism to be a career, I needed to be all-in. Standing in the corner of an overcrowded and sweaty basement, drinking Natty Light wasn’t going to help me. Working for The D.O. would.
It’s why I got involved so early with the paper. I’ll never forget Anish Vasudevan calling me August before my freshman year and offering me my first story. Before most people had their first story assigned, mine was published. As I made my way through the volleyball and ice hockey beats, Anish pitched me on working in-house.
Former and then-staff members also gauged my interest, inquiring if I ever wanted to be Sports Editor. No shit I wanted to run the section, but looking back, I let those talks get to my head. Confidence isn’t bad for writers, but when freshmen let their ego through the roof, it’s a problem.
The thing about The D.O. is it’ll humble you. I figured that out pretty fast with my lack of attention to detail as a freshman assistant digital editor. I brushed off constant mistakes, feeling it was my divine right to eventually be Sports Editor.
The following months altered my perspective. When I wanted to quit, I felt mentally drained. I still loved Syracuse and The D.O., but my college experience wasn’t panning out how I planned, and I searched for solutions.
Everything changed once I realized the people I needed were right there. Cooper and I grew close during our semester as assistants. Justin and Aiden were already my buddies since we lived in Flint Hall together, but even those friendships flourished. My relationships with non-D.O. friends grew stronger as well. They all helped me become Sports Editor in Fall of 2024 and cover almost every major sport at Syracuse.
College is made out to be a complex ecosystem. But it’s not. High schoolers might envision their friend group with at least 20 people. That happens, but it doesn’t always work out how you imagine. All you need is a group of any size that shares unconditional love.
What’s important is dictating your own path and staying patient because everything will work out eventually. Despite some rough patches, my four years at Daily Orange University were well worth it.
I could write a book about my D.O. experiences. A chapter about Aiden and I nervously waiting for our Uber at 3:30 a.m. in Charlotte after Syracuse men’s basketball got knocked out of the ACC Tournament. How about when we nearly missed Fran Brown’s press conference after SU beat Clemson this year?
Another about how Cooper and I covered the men’s lacrosse national championship hungover after we got absurdly drunk the night before or when we left for an 11-hour road trip to Charlotte in the middle of the afternoon. Maybe a little sidebar about me getting pulled over with Justin on our way to Brooklyn last year (sorry mom) and how we somehow traversed to Tennity Ice Pavillion when it felt like negative-20 degrees.
What’s the constant in the endless flow of memories?
My friends.
Aiden, Cooper, Justin and I have often talked about our legacies at the D.O. It might seem like a bunch of idiots trying to gas themselves up, but when you write over 2,000 articles together, it’s hard not to think that way. Everyday on WordPress, we saw names like Jesse Dougherty, Sam Blum, Matt Schneidman and yearned to write like them and have similar careers.
It was a source of motivation. In a decade, the four of us hope future Daily Orange writers will view us that way. We still have a LONG way to go, but our group tested our limits. We wrote as much as possible, critiqued each other’s stories and competed against ourselves for awards. We all realized The D.O.’s pedigree, and that mentality drove us for four years.
Without a doubt, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today without Aiden, Justin and Cooper, and as I move into the real world, it’s hard to imagine not seeing those guys everyday. When I think about these relationships, I’m reminded how I almost threw them away for no reason.
So to any future D.O. scribe that’s doubting yourself, just stick with it. Don’t give up your dreams because some don’t see your vision. Make the choice that’s best for you. And with how special The Daily Orange is, that’s always to stay with the paper.
As Sampha once said on Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V album:
Let it all work it out.
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Zak Wolf was a senior staff writer for The Daily Orange, where his column will no longer appear. He can be reached at zakwolf784254@gmail.com and on X @ZakWolf22
