“When I picture my Northwestern years, I see classmates wearing that classic, loose-fitting, gray college sweatshirt. The one that said ‘Medill,’ conspicuous punctuation included. Medill taught us that details matter. Not for perfectionism’s sake, but because they can have outsized consequence in the pursuit of truth. We learned how to prioritize information by pairing that attention to detail with respect for the broader context. As they say at the newspaper where I did my junior-year residency, ‘big picture, local focus.’ It turned out to be invaluable training for a speechwriting career in the White House, State Department and Senate. En route to each of those privileges, the most indispensable bridge was Medill, period.”
