When Grey Kamasz joined the Daily Evergreen in 2021, he was unsure what his career path would be. Now, he can tell you exactly what he likes to do: write research articles.

“I briefly tried news but didn’t really like it. I kind of liked going more into the scientific side and deciphering and translating the research for the general public,” he said. 

Kamasz, a senior multimedia journalism major, said he used to write for research section, but since that section was combined with news, his research articles now fall under the news section.

Kamasz entered WSU as a risk and crisis in communications major, unsure of what direction he wanted to take or what field to enter. He became interested in the Daily Evergreen while taking Com 300.

“It was a fairly difficult class, so one of my friends told me to join the Evergreen and that it would help me in that class,” Kamasz said. “I didn’t really know what section I wanted to write for, so I went for research because it sounded interesting. I’ve been writing there ever since.”

Through the Daily Evergreen, Kamasz’s interest in journalism was sparked, so much so that he switched his major. Some of the people he has worked most closely with have been his editors, past and present.

Kamasz is originally from Gig Harbor and decided to come to WSU when they were the first ones to respond to him when he applied.

“I ended up applying to all [colleges] in-state including UW and University of Oregon just so I’d have a bunch of safety schools,” he said. “I guess it was instinct because I instantly knew I wanted to go there.”

Kamasz said he did Running Start in high school, so class life was not too hard to get used to, but the biggest adjustment for him was getting used to life on campus, which was an entirely new environment for him.

Throughout his time in college, Kamasz has made a few close friends, he said. Two of his best friends are Bryan Finley-James and Sam Loomis, the latter of whom he met in marching band, which has been one of his favorite activities he has participated in at WSU.

“I joined last year because I always wanted to be in a marching band,” he said. “My high school didn’t have a marching band, they had a pep band, which was a lot of fun, but I really wanted that marching band experience.”

Finley-James is one of Kamasz’s closest friends. 

Finely-James said while he did not have any classes with Kamasz, music was a uniting factor between the two of them. He said he would describe him as “charmingly awkward.” 

“He is very easy to pick out in a crowd,” Finley-James said. “He keeps to himself a lot of the time.”

Some of his favorite memories with Kamasz include the times they would go to Dutch Bros in Moscow, as well as going to a few open mic events. 

“I’m very proud of him, but I’m also sad to see him go,” he said.

Loomis, a transfer junior music education major, has known Kamasz since meeting him in marching band camp in August 2022.

“He’s friendly, he’s not afraid to say hello, he’s not shy, he’s outgoing. He comes off as introverted but I’d say he’s more extroverted in the way he interacts with people,” he said. “He’s very musically talented and I wish he would go into music, but he’s a communications major.”

Loomis said some of the best times he had with Kamasz were when the two of them sat next to each other and hung out during pep band, as well as when they both went to Los Angeles to play in the LA Bowl.

“Eugene’s not that far. It’s going to suck not having him around in band next year, but it’s OK,” Loomis said. “I think he’s been a very good friend and I’ll definitely keep in touch with him after he leaves.

Soon after graduating, Kamasz will start graduate school at University of Oregon for his journalism master’s program. Throughout his time at WSU, the people he has met and experiences he has had are what he cherishes most.

“Self-discovery was kind of the biggest part of my college experience, finding out my passion and what I want to do with my life after college,” he said.

Now that graduation is near and his finals are wrapping up, Kamasz has grown more excited about finishing his time at WSU, he said. Looking back on his time here, Kamasz said he would advise anyone in college to take their time more than anything.

“There’s no need to stress yourself out and take the max amount of credits per semester. It’s OK to kind of take a lighter load and take your time through college because in the end, it’s a lot less stress and you have more time to enjoy things with friends and figure out who you are, what you want to be and what your passions are,” Kamasz said.