While in college I regularly sought guidance and support from journalists whose work I admired. My alma mater, Providence College, didn’t have a journalism school, so internships, editing my college newspaper and having mentors helped teach me the skills I needed to pursue a career as a journalist and have any chance of succeeding.
In particular, I sought inspiration from the few journalists who have graduated from Providence College. Roy Peter Clark ’70, USA Today co-founder John Quinn ’45 and Theresa Freeman ’96 were by far the biggest help to me because they gave me the confidence I needed, helped teach me the values of the craft and gave me a better understanding of how newsrooms have adapted to change throughout the years.
I recently wrote a story about Clark and Quinn for Providence College’s alumni magazine, which you can read here. (See pages 27 and 28 and be patient with the PDF because it takes a little while to load.) The first story is about Clark’s speech at a recent Board of Directors meeting in Jupiter, Fla., in which he proposed that Providence College become a “College of Writers.” The second story is about the ways in which Quinn and Clark have mentored me throughout the years.
Happy reading!
Word on the Street 