Feedback

Three skills learned at Bradley and Identifying a moose’s friends were on our reader’s minds this issue.

WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE SKILLS YOU LEARNED AT BRADLEY THAT YOU USE(D) IN YOUR CAREER?

My story is complex. I barely got accepted into Bradley and had no study skills, which resulted in me being academically dismissed. However, the first skill I learned is not giving up. After changing my major to theater, I got back in and flourished as an actor. I learned how to think on my feet and improvise my thoughts, which honed my skills in sales.

I also learned to be part of a team by seeing everyone pull together for the show’s success no matter how small a part or role they played in the production. Lastly, Bradley taught me loyalty to the university. I met my wife there and have many friends to this day from my fraternity and the theater dept. Thank you for the opportunity to voice my experience.
David Zacher ’72

I came to Bradley intent on becoming a sportswriter, so I was a journalism major; I also joined Tau Epsilon Phi. I spent four years learning from great professors, especially Dr. Paul Snider. I worked part-time for the Peoria Journal Star, and also wrote for The Bradley Scout for several years. The top three skills I learned at Bradley were writing, editing and content creation. After four wonderful years, these skills paid immediate dividends.

First, I was a sportswriter for a year at the Bloomington Pantagraph. Since I was from Connecticut, I returned east and landed a job in New York City on a business magazine. I decided sports writing wasn’t for me because I didn’t want to work nights my whole life covering games. I transitioned to magazines. A few years later, I was lucky enough to land at a company that published many magazines. I also founded the magazine Men’s Workout when fitness was an emerging craze in the 1980s and beyond.

It was the dream of almost every journalism student to start a consumer magazine and be the editor. Men’s Workout was a success from the start. About eight years later I started another title, Exercise & Health, which was also a success. I was at the company for almost 25 years until 2012, when the internet and recession doomed many magazines and newspapers.

One of my all-time greatest memories was attending a Bradley reunion about five years after I’d started Men’s Workout. I went to the bookstore and there it was on the shelf! It was a very proud moment for me, seeing the title I started in the bookstore of my school.

I’m still working full-time, now as a senior editor for Real Estate magazine, covering the residential real estate industry. I’ve also worked at Tennis Magazine and a few other titles.
Michael Catarevas ’77

1. Facts matter. Dr. Paul Snider in the Journalism department stressed the importance of getting your facts straight. As a journalist, I never doubted my facts. I strived to get the story first, but first, get it right.
2. Consistency matters. Because of my pattern of consistency, my photography professor called me in my dorm when I overslept and didn’t show up for the final exam.
3. Be on time. Dr. Snider would lock the classroom doors when class started.
   Jacqueline McLean ’76