Yesterday was my last day of work for probably quite some time.
I am going back to school, starting next month, to earn an MBA with a marketing focus.
To make a long story short, I was not happy with the trajectory of my journalism career. This career change is a long time coming.
But I am going to miss making something at work every day, and there’s a good chance that my next professional endeavor will not include such regular making.
Making a daily newspaper is exciting and rewarding. You’re out to beat the clock every day. (Daily deadlines also make newspapery very stressful.)
But I loved knowing that every night when I left work that I had made something that thousands of people were going to use. Talk about instant gratification!
I’ve always been a maker, and I don’t expect that will change even if in my new career I’m not creating something daily. I have this wonderful place, Sie macht, for sharing my experiments.
Beyond the interwebs, though, I have a kitchen equipped with tools and delicious ingredients, a craft room with a needy sewing machine, and, most importantly, a life filled with creative family and friends who inspire me to solve problems, take chances, and let my imagination run wild.
Erin here, reporting for her next big adventure.
MADISON, Wis. — Newspapering lost a true talent Wednesday when Erin Van Handel cast her final semicolon at the Wisconsin State Journal.
Van Handel, who had an eye for errors and a nose for no-no's, kicked her newspaper habit as she saw the industry swirling downward like so much toilet water.
"I weep for the future," said Sue Gronemus, who hired Van Handel fresh off the J-school bus. Gronemus, face ink-streaked after wiping her tears with today's WSJ, said she knows Van Handel will succeed in whatever she puts her fine mind to.
"Perhaps she could make a pencil skirt from her final paper," Gronemus suggested.
When reached at her home, Van Handel refused comment, citing the need to go hem, saute or double-stitch some damn thing.
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While I'm sorry to hear of your –30–, I'm excited for you!
Good luck, Erin!
Well played, Gronemus, well played.