Afterwords: Champions to thank­—and to follow

If we’re lucky, we have mentors we didn’t expect to find and maybe didn’t know we’d need. We may not even recognize them, at first, in a classroom or lab. But part of a lifetime later, we can only hope others see them in us.

As is true for so many journalism grads of a certain Glassboro State College and Rowan era, Jack Gillespie was not only instrumental in getting me my first “real” job, but also in shaping my 40-plus-year career.

I remember meeting with him the month before graduation and asking if he thought I’d ever make it to the New York Times. It was my dream/delusion to join my hero, deputy metro editor and columnist Anna Quindlen. 

Being realistic about my writing skills, I pretty much knew Jack’s beloved dog—often part of our professor’s self-deprecating and gentle critiques—had a better chance of making it than I did.

But rather than uttering a hard “no” to that fantasy, as many would have, Jack took a thoughtful puff on his cherry tobacco-filled pipe and replied, “I try never to prophesy where students will end up. However, I just learned of a great PR job today and immediately thought of you.”

One phone call from Jack and two interviews later, I found myself hired as the public relations director of Camden County United Way. Only problem was, as a hard-core J-school student, I knew nothing about PR.

Once more, the great Jack Gillespie came to the rescue when he suggested I take a few grad school PR classes at night at GSC. Of course, I listened and zipped from Camden to Glassboro most evenings for the better part of a year to learn about everything from setting up a special event to “handling” the press. (As if that is actually possible … ) 

Toward the end of that year, enter Jack again. He casually mentioned that because I had taken so many graduate classes to learn my job, the only thing holding me back from a master’s degree in PR was writing a thesis and taking the comprehensive exam. Again, another career milestone reached, thanks to Jack’s subtle influence. 

I could go on and on because Jack was extraordinary and I am a better person and professional because of him. What’s more, I know my experience wasn’t exclusive. At Jack’s memorial service in June, we alumni all had similar stories to tell. Jack was a great man—the sort very few ever get to call mentor or friend. Always funny, but never cutting. Inquisitive, but not nosy. Clear with his direction, but also kind with any criticism. 

I imagine many students enroll in a program to earn a degree—from accounting to theatre to chemistry, undergrad to Ph.D.—and achieve that, perfectly satisfied and prepared to move on. But for those of us who found someone like Jack in their academic career, the value of our education and the benefits to our experience multiplied exponentially. The luckiest of us will realize it long before a memorial service so we can say thanks through the years.

The start of Rowan’s second century is a good time to listen to the stories like mine others can tell. Or not. It may be just enough to remember the Jack Gillespies in our lives and emulate them as well as we can, boosting those around us with kindness and guiding them through the gaps sure to come with change and challenge. 

For those in the know, we realize our “Jacks” are not gone from us forever, simply a few steps ahead (as usual), saving us average bears a seat in a place much better when our time on earth is through. 

Peace, Jack, until we meet again …

Lisa Patten Schuler ’85, M’89 founded Dandelion Communications after nearly 25 years as a corporate executive and management consultant. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies and small, nonprofit organizations on their internal and external communications initiatives, winning dozens of national and international honors for her clients.