Reflecting on 30 Years Since I Graduated from Northwestern University

I graduated from Northwestern University in 1996 from the Medill School of Journalism with a bachelor of science in journalism. 

This year marks 30 years since that time. One of the alumni associations asked me to reflect on the anniversary for its 30th reunion. I will not be attending the reunion, but I did write up some reflections for them in their internal directory for the event. Today I am sharing with  you, word for word, the writing I shared with my former classmates in that online space to commemorate the reunion.

Their prompt: What are some highights of my journey since I was a student at NU?

After Northwestern I built a career in journalism (I was an editor and producer for Chicago Tribune, Encyclopaedia Britannica, others) that also took a transformational turn around 2010, when I moved into the world of startups.

My most meaningful venture was my startup LED Queens, which I founded in 2017. It was an activewear brand, designed by me, made for LGBTQ+ people in order to validate our lives inside gym and bodybuilding spaces. The brand fostered a legacy of innovation and cultural impact that lasted nine years.

I also have published eight books of my fiction (under my own imprint and startup Solar Six Books). My debut novel 13 Secret Cities (2013) draws on Aztec cosmology and Mesoamerican mythology. It's the first book in my Coil series, followed by its sequels 9 Lords of Night (2018) and Hall of Mirrors (2026).

My startup legacy spans tech, digital publishing and automotive. Most recently I was Director of Strategy for Razorfish. During my tenure, I had the privilege of creating solutions and new experiences for my client Ford Pro, Ford Motor Company's commercial EV brand. I also blended strategy, operations and editorial leadership during the 2010s as one of four founding editors at Wirecutter. That foundational work primed the publication for its acquisition by New York Times in 2016.

My time at Northwestern was crucial for my development and contributed to my growth as a human being. My values have always centered democracy free speech, human rights and equality for all people of the world. I have unfortunately witnessed my own alma mater falter in recent times in upholding several of these principles, so I say today: FREE PALESTINE.

Additional Reflections

After re-reading what I wrote, I realize that life continues to evolve, change, and challenge us. My undergrad experience was in many ways wonderful, idyllic, but it was not a utopia by any means. There were lessons about colonialism, white supremacy, capitalism and American imperialism that I needed to learn, and I am still learning. Institutions, grow, change, and in some cases, they also become different. Some even decay and rot. But that's all they are: institutions.

It's the free will of the individual  and the interiority of human consciousness, where change is most needed. Critical thinking activates this change. Realizing that the status quo is connected to larger, broader systems, opens up the doors of personal change and transformation. I will always be glad I spent four years in my youth at NU. But I am not the same person today, 30 years after the fact. I am the person that has individuated further, and the way I see my undergrad years now is vastly different than how I saw them then. I am grateful to be alive to tell my story. But it's a story that rejects many of the damages institutions like corporations and universities often perpetrate. It's a story about a human being that believes we can change the world, if we can be courageous enough to reject (and replace) the systems that oppress us. That is worth human effort.