In 2007, I was hired by Washington University in St. Louis as editor of a print newspaper called the Record, which has since evolved into a daily email newsletter. After a few years doing media and news for the university’s Brown School of Social Work, dabbling in social media, writing for The Source, the site for information, inspiration and stories about at WashU, I’m now senior associate editor for Washington, the university’s alumni magazine.
I have covered some pretty remarkable stories over the years, including one of the most memorable stories I’ve written: The Made to Model initiative, a group of WashU undergraduates who formed a club to make adaptive fashion for St. Louis area kids with functional needs. I followed the story for over a year, writing this in October 2021, and this most recently, a story and a video that I helped produce published in the June 2022 issue of Washington magazine. The one constant over the years: WashU students never cease to amaze me.
Each day is something different to write, edit or produce, like talking to poet Paul Tran for Washington Magazine; world-renowned cosmochemist Kevin McKeegan who has spent his career studing the tiniest particles of the universe; and on paralympic athlete Kendall Gretsch. Speaking of the Olympics, there was this day in 2018 when we announced that our office was going to help the St. Louis Sports Commission reignite an effort to honor St. Louis’ Olympic legacy, the story of the dedication in October 2018, and the story I wrote for Washington magazine about how WashU built a women’s sports program in the wake of Title IX.
I love writing about Commencement, most recently in May 2022 with this recap of WashU’s 161st Commencement or two Commencements in 2021, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In 2017, I watched one of my literary heroes, writer Anna Quindlen, tell the students, “I’m not afraid of success. i’m afraid of living a life that seems more like a resume than an adventure story.” I loved that.Other Commencement stories have been this story about the speech made in 2015 by Ken Burns; and this wrap-up of Tony La Russa’s address to the Class of 2014.
Every year, this job seems to bring something memorable, as it did in the fall of 2016 when the university hosted the second Presidential Debate. This time, I led the news team that produced content for the debate website, as well as wrote a story about being inside the debate hall and how it felt for our student presidents to meet the candidates. I also helped produce the “Debate Insider” videos with our videographer, Tom Malkowicz, interviewing on camera Chancellor Mark Wrighton, former Dean Bob Virgil, police chief Mark Glenn and the always interesting Steve Givens.
Among my most favorite recent stories are an introduction of our athletic director Anthony Azama and a feature on our rowing team. Other stories I’ve written was an introduction of our former athletics director Josh Whitman; a story on the football team’s annual trek up Pikes Peak; and a feature on engineering student-athlete Lucy Cheadle. When one of our professors in Arts & Sciences, Anton DiSclafani, got a seven-figure advance for her novel, I got to spend an hour in a coffee shop talking writing, the writing process and her book tour. The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls was a pretty big success.
Another highlight was a story and video produced about two construction workers on a major revamp of the campus’ east end. I can honestly say I’ll never forget Marjorie and Danyeal, The Gatekeepers.
A sampling of a few others:
- A story putting a 1950s-era recruiting film, written and produced by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Charles Guggenheim, into perspective.
- A conversation with Brown School Assistant Professor Jason Q. Purnell on how the poor were being overlooked during the 2012 election campaign.
- A feature about a unique community partnership between the Missouri Botanical Gardens and WUSTL’s Institute for School Partnership called SIFT & TERF that encourages high school students to pursue science careers
- A feature story on student stand-ins in the special issue of the Record published following the 2008 Vice-Presidential Debate.
- Six “Washington People” profiles highlighting faculty and staff of the university, including volleyball coach Rich Luenemann (June 11, 2008); athletics department assistant Kathy Lasater (Nov. 19, 2008) and men’s tennis coach Roger Follmer (June 10, 2010), Edison Theatre director Charlie Robin (Sept. 2, 2011), Brown School researcher and professor Ross Brownson (April 26, 2013) and Brown School associate dean Renee Cunningham-Williams (Oct. 4, 2013).
Every day is different. Every day this place amazes me. Wouldn’t have it any other way.