For the past four years as a writer and editor at GW Today, I’ve been lucky enough to chronicle many of your academic journeys and stories. But in doing so, I came to realize that my own felt unfinished.
See, I always felt a tad boxed in by traditional coursework. I loved to write but didn’t necessarily love to read. I loved history but didn’t particularly want to teach. I was OK in math but processed it slower than others—not a great recipe for a high school curriculum where tests made up most of the grade. And science, well, let’s just say the collective science IQ at my house is average to slightly below average—and my wife was the valedictorian of her medical school class.
Because of this, I, quite frankly, left a lot to be desired in my first 16 years of schooling. And when I finished my undergraduate studies in journalism in spring 2015 at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, I thought for certain that would be the end of my academic career. While I was immensely proud of the work I and a great group of peers did with the student newspaper there, I left a lot of meat on the bone in the classroom. And that was something I was always willing to live with—or more so had to accept.
That was until I arrived here—at a world-class university sitting in one of the most consequential cities on earth.
When I was onboarding for my current role, which I was hired for in late summer 2021, I kept hearing of the tuition remission benefit for staff. As incredible an opportunity as it seemed, it also felt daunting, especially since I had just completed a move from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic. I logged it away for later consideration in the same manner I approach dieting—more likely to think about it than act upon it.
But the more stories I wrote my first year on the job, the more I realized just what an incredible place GW is to get an education. And therefore, the more I considered going back to school. I thought that I could perhaps finally find my academic niche at an institution where former ambassadors who served at crucial times taught, where leading experts gathered to discuss the most pressing world issues and where students would be encouraged to utilize all of their creativity in ways best suited for them.
I wanted to be a part of that, and I finally acted. I received my acceptance letter to begin my graduate studies in the School of Media and Public Affairs’ Media and Strategic Communication master’s program in early April 2022.
And on May 18, the last chapter of my academic journey will come to an end. I will be graduating as a proud member of the Class of 2025, and my own story will finally feel complete.
Because for the past three years, I’ve felt that the curriculum of my program has allowed me to operate outside the box at the encouragement of world-class faculty and incredibly creative-thinking peers.
I felt captivated by the projects, where I could use my writing skills to tackle challenges and create new opportunities through storytelling in ways I hadn’t before. In my Political Communications course, I put together a light-rail proposal for my birth town of Madison, Wisconsin. In Politics and PR, I laid out a strategic plan to incorporate media literacy into public schools. In the first iteration of my capstone class, I worked with a group of peers on a project aiming to reduce noise pollution in D.C. (shout-out to my fellow Noise Pollution Warriors who will also be graduating with me). And in the capstone’s second phase, I pitched a plan to move a Washington Spirit women’s soccer home game to a larger venue in an attempt to attract a record crowd. These projects provided me a level of engagement I never remember experiencing in a classroom.
And that perhaps is largely due to who was in the front of said classrooms, with faculty constantly pushing me and my peers to find solutions and craft messaging that would most resonate with our intended audiences.
Looking back, it’s hard to believe how lucky I was to take both Media and War and Media Effects and Persuasion taught by two faculty members who were embedded with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or Data Analytics taught by a chief economist for the House Budget Committee. Or Media and Foreign Policy taught by a State Department senior adviser with decades of diplomatic service all over the globe. Or Speechwriting taught by a former presidential campaign speechwriter.
I can’t even begin to describe the energy I’d feel leaving campus at night after an incredibly engaging discussion and then driving down 23rd Street with the Lincoln Memorial glowing straight ahead amid the nighttime sky.
For me, there was no better way to finish my academic story than at this place in the heart of the nation’s capital, surrounded by powerful symbols made possible by people throughout history who refused to be boxed in.
So, to my fellow Class of 2025 graduates now beginning new chapters, let’s continue to stay inspired, burst through the boxes and forever Raise High.
Nick Erickson is a senior writer/editor at GW Today who has been on staff since September 2021.
