Rush University is set to celebrate over 800 graduates at its 53rd commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 3, at Credit Union One Arena.
The university is excited to announce that Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and political analyst, MSNBC, will be the event’s honorary speaker.
For three decades, Robinson worked in a variety of positions at the Washington Post including foreign correspondent in Buenos Aires and London; foreign editor; and assistant managing editor in charge of the Post’s award-winning Style section – where he learned that hip-hop and American Idol are as relevant to people’s lives, in their way, as the “serious” news that gets reported on the front page.
Robinson has sat down with presidents, world leaders and the Queen of England. An author of a number of books, he has written about race in Brazil and music in Cuba, covered a heavyweight championship fight, witnessed riots in Philadelphia and a murder trial in the deepest Amazon. He was also the winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for his commentary on the 2008 presidential race that resulted in the election of America’s first African American president.
Through his writing, Robinson picks American society apart and then put it back together again in unexpected and revelatory new ways.
“Rush University is honored to have Eugene Robinson speak at this year’s commencement ceremony,” says Robert S.D. Higgins, MD, MSHA, president and chief academic officer, Rush University and chief clinical and academic officer and senior vice president, Rush University System for Health. “He has had a profound impact as a journalist through his storytelling and coverage of major events, influential figures and what it all means for the American people.”
Rush University sat down with Robinson ahead of the commencement ceremony to hear his thoughts on his career as a journalist, leadership and advice for the future.
"Sometimes you have to stretch and have confidence in yourself, that you can meet the moment and meet the task at hand."
A Q&A With Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist and Political Analyst, MSNBC
How did you start your career in journalism?
I grew up in Orangeburg, South Carolina and I went to the University of Michigan. At first, I was going to become an architect. As it turned out, I was probably the worst student in architecture 101 in my class at U of M. I could tell that other kids were much better at this than I was, but I wandered into the student newspaper, The Michigan Daily. There was something about the Michigan Daily and I sort kept coming back and eventually they just said, “well, if you're going to be around here, you know, go ahead and write a story.”
During that time, I was in freshman English and was assigned an essay. I wrote about an incident that had happened in my hometown called the Orangeburg Massacre, where three Black students were killed when state troopers fired on a group of unarmed civil rights protesters in 1968. My instructor gave me an A on the paper, a few revisions and told me to enter it into a campuswide writing competition at Michigan. I ended up winning the competition and it was the first time that I really thought about writing as a as a career, and specifically about journalism. I called my parents and let them know architecture wasn’t working out and I was thinking about journalism. From then on, I was a journalist.
Is there a piece that you've written in your career that is your favorite or one that's most memorable?
There was a column that I wrote the day after the 2008 election. I had written many columns about the Obama campaign. At the end of 2007, I had gone to Iowa before the Iowa caucuses and had seen the reaction of the Iowa crowds. I saw how these crowds – Midwesterners who were a majority white – were reacting to Barack Obama and how he inspired them. It was then that I had a sense that he could actually win the nomination and become president.
As someone who grew up in the south, it was hard for me to imagine. Until 11 p.m. on election night. I was in New York doing commentary for MSNBC and I remember it wasn’t my day to write a column, but I called the Post and said, “I’m writing a column.” I remember the process of writing the column and the importance of that moment. It was American history and my own history, my parent’s history and our reaction to the election of the first African American president. It was a reflection of the scenes we saw in Chicago as the Obamas came out to accept that victory. I wrote all of that into the column and ended it by saying that “it felt like morning in America and the and the sunlight felt warm on my face.”
It was the last column in a set of 10. The Post entered it for the Pulitzer Prize which I won the next year. Those columns, especially the last one, are what’s most memorable for me.
"It was American history and my own history, my parent’s history and our reaction to the election of the first African American president. It was a reflection of the scenes we saw in Chicago as the Obamas came out to accept that victory. I wrote all of that into the column and ended it by saying that 'it felt like morning in America and the and the sunlight felt warm on my face.'"
What advice would you give to graduates about becoming a leader as they move forward in their careers? What skills make an impactful leader?
In many ways you have to be flexible and in many ways firm.
You have to be flexible enough to be open to opportunities that were not necessarily in your plan. I didn’t plan to become a journalist or that I would do a number of different jobs at the Post. I hadn't thought of becoming a foreign correspondent in Buenos Aires until the opportunity presented itself. Had I not been open to that, I would have missed one of the great experiences in my life. Sometimes you have to stretch and have confidence in yourself, that you can meet the moment and meet the task at hand.
You have to be firm in that you have to be true to yourself. I think that’s important no matter what you’re doing. You can’t fake it, and you have to be honest with people about what you really think. Its about being true to yourself and treating people with respect. You should always treat people decently even if you are delivering bad news, telling someone they didn’t get a job or assignment they wanted. They will respect you if you respect them.
Is there any advice you wish someone would have given you when you started your career, that you would like to impart on our on our graduates?
When I started my career, I wish I someone had told me “To know you’re good enough.” You are more than good enough and to trust yourself. Trust your instincts and be open to learning. When mentoring people now and I hear them talk about imposter syndrome, I tell them “you are here for a reason, you belong here.” I think that is a lesson we all have to learn eventually and may we learn with time but I wish that was someone would have said me, “You are here for a reason and you belong.”