What did you major/minor in at the University of Oregon? How would you describe your time at UO and when did you graduate?
Journalism major, 1981-84. Worked at the Emerald as a reporter and editor. Played club lacrosse. I loved my time at Oregon and especially at the Emerald.
Describe your career path, so far. Where are you working now and what is your title?
I was a journalist for 25 years, most of that time at USA Today as a national news reporter and Chicago bureau chief. I left newspapers 12 years ago to become an educator and non-profit consultant, teaching at Rutgers University and the University of Delaware. I am now the general manager at The Daily Pennsylvanian, working with the staff of the independent student newspaper at the University of Pennsylvania.
How do you think your time at the Daily Emerald prepared you for the job you have now?
It was the best preparation I could have had. My clips opened the door for a job offer immediately after graduation at the Statesman-Journal in Salem. I developed good news judgment, sharpened my reporting and writing skills, and gained an ability to work on deadline. The Emerald prepared me for a journalism career in a way that my classroom experiences never could.
Describe your fondest memory relating to your time at the Daily Emerald.
The overarching memory for me is the staff camaraderie. Some of the best friendships I ever had were forged while working at the ODE.
Tell us about a time you managed a project at the Emerald. What was the process and the outcome?
It wasn’t a project, but one of the great experiences I had was the Emerald underwriting the cost of my traveling to Nicaragua with a group of women elected leaders and scholars from Oregon as part of a public/government exchange and writing a week-long series about the aftermath of the Sandinista’s overthrow of the American-backed dictatorship. It fueled my interest in reporting from conflict areas, which I was able to do later in my career, including reporting from Afghanistan immediately after 9/11.
How do you stay in touch with the team you worked with at the Emerald? Is there anyone you’d like to reconnect with?
I’ve mostly stayed in touch through social media, mainly Facebook.
If you had the opportunity to speak to current student journalists at the Emerald what would you say to them?
Working for the Emerald is the chance to become the journalist you want to become. Devote yourself to it because it will enable you to succeed in ways you may never imagine.
