Matt Tullis was an integral part of Ashland University’s journalism program, in large part because he was an integral part of the lives of his students and the Collegian staffs he led.

I’m grateful that Matt was not only my professor but my advisor, mentor and friend. He changed my life by being the best kind of teacher: He got to know me as an individual and helped me understand the world around me.

As a young journalism student, I was timid; I loved to write, but what I didn’t know was how to talk to people. Grammar and the art of words are important, but Matt focused on the reporting process just as much. He helped me find my voice and encouraged me to talk to more people to truly understand each story.

Matt excelled at connecting with people. I’m in awe of the volume of tributes people have shared showing just how many lives he touched and changed: his students, colleagues, friends, people he interviewed – people whose stories he told. 

At AU, Matt gave his student journalists the freedom to grow independently, but also the support to become better reporters and people. He said “yes” to pretty much any idea we wanted to explore. He gave us the dedication to spend his evenings in the Collegian office with us, whether he was talking the staff through a tough article or goofing off with junk food. These are some of my favorite college memories. Matt loved to tell tales of his years as a reporter, and we loved to listen because that’s when we learned the most from him. 

Matt was real with us, and he told us the good, the bad and the ugly of what it takes to be a journalist. He inspired me because he had done everything he encouraged us to do. No other professor taught me more or made me laugh harder than Matt did. He was kind, brave, brilliant, funny and honest. I will remember him as someone who gave life 110%.

One memory that sticks with me is from the summer after my dad passed away. I was overwhelmed with grief and the stress of my first job as a news reporter. I thought of quitting and felt like a failure. But when Matt learned how much I was struggling, he didn’t treat me like a failure. He treated me like a human being. He invited me to his house to have dinner with his family and just talk. I wasn’t even his student anymore, but Matt was the kind of person who truly cared about people. He believed in me, and he helped me find my voice again to carry on as a local reporter.

Matt’s passing is a huge loss to the field of journalism and the lives of everyone who knew him. I know he had more stories to tell. It’s stunning to process how someone so full of life could be gone so soon. His legacy lives on in the stories he told and the people he taught.

– Missy Loar Battishill was managing editor of The Collegian in 2010-11. She resides in Delaware, Ohio, and works as a building substitute teacher. Her husband, Glenn, was managing editor of The Collegian in 2012-13.