Editor's letter contains important lessons for professor
By Ernest Wiggins
J-Ed Committee Chair
An editor's recent recommendation of a student I've been mentoring offered me some valuable lessons I'd like to share with you.
I'd been mentoring Chris, as I'll call him, since he
arrived on campus in the fall of 2006. We'd corresponded that summer,
and I sent him a half-dozen older editions of journalism books from my shelf to
begin a professional library. We formally met at convocation that
August, and he was buzzing with enthusiasm.
Chris had been a varsity track athlete in high school and had
written for his hometown paper. Needless to say, he hit the campus running (pun intended). By the end of the school year, he'd aced 30-hours of course
work, written for the student paper and student magazine, freelanced
for the local daily and alternative weekly and helped coach a local
prep cross-country team. In every way he was a model student.
The following summer he worked on
the city desk at a mid-size daily near his hometown and, according to
his editors, handled his assignments with brio, and was invited to return the next summer, which he did.
While
updating me of his 2008 internship application to major dailies, Chris
said several recruiters told him the letter from his internship editor was
"stellar." I asked him to share the letter with me, which he did.
The
letter is so smart and finely crafted that it has given me much to
think about as I help my young charges prepare for internships and
their first jobs.
The internship supervisor opened the letter by evaluating Chris's
performance relative to the other interns whose work the editor had supervised.
Lesson for students: Your work may not only be compared to your contemporaries but to those who came before.
The editor assessed Chris's demeanor ~ mature and patient ~ and his
performance as reporter and writer ~ precise and efficient, careful and focused, lively,
authoritative and engaging.
Lesson for students: Don't whine, get it right, stay on task and look for ways to tell that routine story in a fresh way.
The editor wrote that Chris quickly worked his way out of G.A. brites and news briefs to centerpieces and take outs.
Lesson for students: "Paying dues" is not just about being worthy; it's also about being ready.
To support this point, the editor referred to three stories in
which Chris demonstrated resourcefulness or enterprise and commented on
unique challenges each assignment presented.
Lesson for student: Sticking with a story despite obstacles is a highly prized quality that needs to be cultivated.
The editor closed the letter saying that were Chris to decide not
to return to school but join the paper's staff, that Chris would
quickly become a newsroom leader.
Lesson for me: Bright,
talented students are a joy and a challenge to teach but I must work
doubly hard to keep them engaged and reaching for higher levels of excellence.