Remembering Rebecca: A farewell to our photographer

There are many do’s and don’ts in the field of journalism. Do tell the truth, don’t intentionally bring harm to individuals. The list of rules journalists should strive to adhere to is endless, but above all else, we are told to go about our business objectively and fairly. With that in mind, The Volante finds itself stuck between a rock and a hard place upon hearing the news that one of our photographers was killed in a car accident Tuesday in Minnesota.

What are we to do — grieve over the loss of our friend or do as we’ve been taught and report the news? Rebecca Kroeger, of Parkston, S.D., was one of our own. She was a Coyote. She was an avid art enthusiast and her presence projected raw creativity. Rebecca was a beautiful person and she was one of us — a student wandering through life who happened to walk into our newsroom a year ago looking to shoot a few photos.

From day one, Rebecca made it clear to everyone on staff she was not fond of reporting and preferred to capture snippets of those moments through photography. Even the slightest suggestion from another colleague that she consider getting a few student quotes to go along with her photo gallery resulted in a sassy, blank stare which sufficiently conveyed a resounding, “You’re kidding, right? No way, uh-uh.” As her photo portfolio for The Volante grew larger with each passing week, it became apparent her snap shots portrayed those specific moments in a way words could not.

Working at a college newspaper is draining, to put it lightly. Balancing 15 or so credits, making time to hang out with friends and working to produce daily content for a news organization — among all the other things college students face — is extremely difficult. There are times when we want to drop everything and run, thinking all of our stress-related problems will disappear once we let go.

Even during these times, everyone on staff has a passion for journalism which keeps them driven and focussed. Rebecca had passion like no one else. With every photo assignment she took, she had an awe of excitement about her which seemingly allowed her to see each story in a new light. At the end of the day, Rebecca was a consummate professional — something everyone at The Volante strives to become.

Rebecca’s artistic outlook on life was evident in all the photos she took for The Volante — right up until the end. Just last Saturday, she took more than 1,400 photos of the University of South Dakota’s first home football game of the season. That’s 1,400 individual pieces of art illustrating a moment that most would have forgotten, but thanks to Rebecca, can now be remembered. The USD home football opener was one photo assignment Rebecca signed up for, but throughout her time with us, she photographed countless events. So many moments captured and remembered because of her artistic abilities and passion for photography.

While The Volante is a place of learning and allows us to hone our journalistic skills, it is a place where friendships are forged and blossom throughout our time here and continue long after graduation. Even when we end up fighting about the happenings within the newsroom, we stand together and laugh about our life experiences. As a staff, we mourn the loss of Rebecca. She was a colleague who all too frequently told us ‘art is life,’ but more importantly, she was our friend who made us laugh and smile. We’re going to miss you, Rebecca, but thankfully you shot some really beautiful images during your time with us — some of which we included in the photo gallery below.