Nor is it the decisions that feel larger-than-life in the moment.

Not the edits on difficult stories.

While all important, the position begs a deeper question: When this role concludes, what parts of it are supposed to stay with me?

In learning about James Allan Mitzelfeld, I found an answer.

Before he became a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for exposing public corruption in Michigan, before he became a federal prosecutor and senior counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General, Jim Mitzelfeld was Editor-in-Chief of The State News.

And according to those who knew him best, he never stopped carrying that experience.

“Being editor of The State News held a very, very special place in his heart,” said his wife, Lisa Mitzelfeld. “Always.”

Of all the accomplishments Mitzelfeld would go on to earn - and there were many - that detail is the one that has stayed with me most.

It reaffirms something I have always known to be true, something I perhaps have not even completely understood yet - The State News has directly shaped how I operate and navigate the world.

“Of all of his accomplishments, being editor of The State News was one of those he was most proud of." said his daughter, Paris Shrestha.

Mitzelfeld’s life was extraordinary. As a reporter at The Detroit News, he helped uncover public corruption and won journalism’s highest honor. He later built a distinguished legal career investigating wrongdoing at the highest levels of government. But aside from the accolades and the institutional power was something more consistent.

Truth.

“He always fought for uncovering the truth, both as a journalist and then later as a lawyer,” said Shrestha. “That was at the core of everything he did.”

That line feels particularly impactful from this chair, and even more powerful knowing I will be getting off it soon.

Being in this role has meant coexistence amongst often encapsulating tension and high-stakes dilemmas, quick decision making, thinking about people beyond their title, the art of accuracy. It means acknowledging how the loudest voice in the room is not always correct.

How titles, by themselves, do not grant integrity.

Mitzelfeld seemed to understand that early.

His family described a man guided not by prestige or wealth, but by principle. Someone who believed power should be constantly challenged. Someone who valued ethics over résumé lines. Someone who cared less about recognition than about whether his work actually made the world better.

That served as an important reminder for me, and it should for any future Editor-in-Chief, especially one nearing the conclusion of their tenure.

Eventually, every editor leaves. Uncertainty becomes something akin to reality.

Another person takes the title. Another staff inherits the newsroom. Another set of hands shapes the destiny of the organization.

When that happens, the role becomes something you did, but what remains is not how long you held the role, but what the role taught you to hold onto.

For Mitzelfeld, it appears The State News gave him more than leadership experience. It sharpened a moral compass. It reinforced the importance of asking questions, pursuing truth relentlessly and never giving up.

That way of thinking stuck with him for all his life - success might be relative, but appreciation and nature of capitalization is catered person-by-person.

As I learned of his passing on April 25, my mind first went to his legacy, his awards, his recognitions and the stories that defined his career. But the more I came to understand Jim Mitzelfeld, the more I felt he may have been disappointed if that was the extent of my reflection.

His story was significant because of the person he was, not because of what he did, and that is why it is so important to me now.

Visible accomplishments do not tell much of a story - they are glamorous - permanent transformations, however, are far more telling: how this position teaches you to think, to be a leader in a sense that will help you for the rest of your life.

Jim Mitzelfeld kept The State News with him because what he learned here was never meant to stay here.

Paris Shrestha, Mitzelfeld’s daughter, described a man, and a father, whose life was guided by principles.

She put it best: “Just because someone’s in power … doesn’t mean they’re always right.

"He wasn’t proud of the award. He was proud that he never gave up.” Shrestha said.

Principles are important, especially when they appear first on the moral pecking order for the entirety of someone's life.

I hope that is true for me, too.

Because if this role has taught me anything, it is that being Editor-in-Chief is not about leading the newsroom for a period of time, or about being the face of the organization.

It is about deciding what kind of person that responsibility forces you to become after you are gone. So thank you, Jim Mitzelfeld, for helping me realize that. I will carry it with me forever.