Sam Taylor, WSU senior multimedia journalism major, said he made the decision to become a Coug because of the opportunities available through Murrow College, including clubs and organizations like Cable 8 and The Daily Evergreen. While still true, there is a different distinct reason he feels he is a Coug today.  

“I’m a Coug today because of the people I’ve met,” Taylor said. 

Since coming to WSU, Taylor has pursued countless opportunities. He has been an assistant for Cable 8 and eventually became the producer of the show “Wazzu Recap,” became the sports editor and managing editor at The Daily Evergreen while covering women’s basketball and baseball and has been a part of the Cougar Marching Band for his full four years.

He said he joined Cable 8 and the Evergreen in quick succession, quickly falling in love with both organizations thanks to the communities that were built and the ability to produce creative work. 

“You’re also just doing it with people who become your best friends and that’s just fantastic,” Taylor said. 

Cristian Gonzalez, WSU senior broadcast production-multimedia production double major and the director of the Cable 8 show “CougZone,” said Taylor is a man of many talents who does a bit of everything.

“He is 100% full force. He just has such a warm energy and I love everything about him,” Gonzalez said. “He knows how to make you smile and he knows how to make you feel comfortable.” 

Gonzalez said Taylor is able to light up the room with his presence and being someone who is nice is something he prides himself on, something Taylor agrees with. 

“I like to think that people will think of me as like, one of the nicest people they know because you know I am not perfect but I am trying my best,” Taylor said. “I’m always trying to treat people with kindness, and doing a little bit more.” 

Taylor quickly climbed the ladder of leadership in especially the Evergreen, heading into the fall 2022 semester, the former Editor-in-Chief named him the sports editor and his staff at the time could be counted on one hand. 

After being hired, he said the first call he made had been to Trevor Junt, a friend of his who hired him onto Cable 8 the year before and had originally applied to work at the Evergreen but never got a response. 

Junt became the football beat reporter while also quickly stepping into the role of deputy sports editor for the rapidly growing section. It had been a quick path to the role, but Junt said the opportunities for both he and Taylor almost never came. 

“Sam is one of the first people I hired at Cable 8 and I almost did not even take a chance on him, it took the adamant suggestion of two others to make the decision,” Junt said. “It would have been an awful decision if I had said no and would have negatively changed both our college careers.” 

Junt said Taylor made it an emphasis to increase the staff, hiring nearly one new person every single week. While not all sunshine and rainbows, Taylor always made sure to give new writers the benefit of the doubt, even if Junt suggested focusing on other people. 

“He doesn’t give up on anything or anyone. He pushes through,” Junt said. “He is so loving. When you have someone who cares so much, they are going to be successful.” 

Taylor said he had to put his never-give-up attitude to the test due to a struggle with balancing everything he was doing. The worst of his failure to balance had been the three times he failed to get a C or better in Com 210. 

Not for lack of struggling to understand the requirements of the assignments or even getting bad grades when doing them, Taylor said he just constantly had foregone completing enough assignments to get to the coveted “C” to move on.

Prioritizing the roles he had been getting paid for, classes had fallen down the to-do list. However, Taylor said he knew he had to just put his head down and complete the class, and other classes for that matter, so he would not be at risk for having to leave behind the opportunities and friends he made at the Evergreen and Cable 8.

Taylor said he has loved his time as an editor for the paper, finding gratitude in helping others find their voice in their writing and having a lot of fun putting all the work together for a print edition every week. 

“When completing a production day, you see your name and your friend’s name multiple times and you realize that, ‘Hey, we made this.’ It’s something that did not exist 12 or 16 hours ago and that is really cool,” Taylor said. 

Working for the paper has also given Taylor the opportunity to cover the women’s basketball team, which, through his coverage and involvement in the CMB, has given him his favorite memories of his time at WSU.

Taylor said he has taken three trips with the CMB to Las Vegas to play for the women, with the magnum opus being the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament win. Getting to watch the team he covered for the season accomplish such a feat and then being able to celebrate on the court as part of the band had been a surreal experience for the senior. 

“To have a 0.001% of an impact, any sliver of impact is such a gratifying feeling and those women really deserved it, they are so great,” Taylor said. 

Taylor said that despite hating sports for the first 10 years of his life and not caring about them in the slightest, working at the Evergreen and for Cable 8 has solidified his passion for telling stories in the realm of sports and he is now confident in his chosen path.