When I received, via email, the first draft of this issue鈥檚 cover story from the writer, Nicholas Ducassi, it was 3,297 words. Taking into account that the article had to fit into a five-page, 2,500-word space, I knew Nick and I would be having multiple conversations during the next week or two. He realized it, too, as his email noted:
Please consider this what it is: a first draft, and by no means a final version. Yes, it鈥檚 way long, but I know you鈥檒l give me guidance on what can go (and I鈥檓 sure a lot can be condensed).
I鈥檝e been working with Nick since his senior year at Carnegie Mellon. An acting major, he earned his degree in 2010, and he is still waiting to be discovered. But as a writer, consider him discovered. He has a gift for accurately chronicling engaging stories without sacrificing any relevant information. Anyone who read last issue鈥檚 鈥淏roadway Bound鈥� feature about The Book of Mormon stars knows what I mean. I keep telling Nick, as I do to several of the magazine鈥檚 other contributors, to start making story pitches to The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and other respected magazines. Their writing, in my opinion, is that good and a big reason why Carnegie Mellon Today has won 57 editorial awards since 2007. (Glance over to the adjoining masthead to view the current awards.)
The cover story assigned to Nick was meant to be a quasi-profile of School of Music student, Jamie Burrows. The intention was that while telling her story, Nick could weave in why the School of Music鈥攊n the midst of celebrating its 100th anniversary鈥攊s such a special place.
With my red pen handy, I printed out the story鈥檚 first draft and got to work. A few minutes later, I reached the end. There wasn鈥檛 a red mark on the pages. The only things with a touch of red were my eyes, trying to hold back tears. Nick had told a tale filled with aspirations, with sadness, with triumphs, with hope. Here is perhaps the most telling line:
No one would ever question the school鈥檚 academic prowess; now, no one would question its heart.
Of course, I let Nick know what a great job he did. We worked together to find a way to get the piece down to 2,500 words, 2,498 to be exact, and then I handed it over to the magazine鈥檚 creative director, Tom Kosak, who always does a masterful job of complementing the words with the design (which is another reason Carnegie Mellon Today has won so many awards).
As delighted as I am with the end result of the cover story, 鈥淒uet鈥� (I recommend having tissues nearby before reading), I鈥檓 just as pleased with the powerful, moving content in this issue鈥檚 other stories鈥攆rom the features to the News Flash briefs. You can read about everything from medical breakthroughs on the cusp [鈥淏iological Wonder鈥漖 to the impact of today鈥檚 technology on how we discover our favorite musicians [鈥淟ast Word鈥漖.
All in all, I believe it鈥檚 another job well done by Nick and the rest of the issue鈥檚 contributors, three-quarters of whom are Carnegie Mellon students, alumni, or faculty. As always, let me know what you think.
鈥�Robert Mendelson
聽聽聽 Executive Editor
