How was your job different than you thought it would be?
It was fun. In fact it wasn't like real work in the sense I was so interested in what I was doing. I thought I'd eventually want to go onto journalism, so it was a great way for me to learn how a newspaper worked. We were printing scores so I couldn't mess up at all. I had very strict standards to meet because if we submitted any incorrect information that was printed, the newspaper was responsible for the mistake. Being a journalist often requires working odd hours, so I had to be flexible, and didn't have the ideal schedule for a high school student. I had to write the stories on football and basketball games from 10pm-3am on Friday nights. There were 50-60 schools in Northern Indiana/south Michigan that would call in their scores so I'd go in on Saturdays with one or two others from Notre Dame to fill in details from the box scores, oftentimes through 1am. The job was really exciting to me though. I got to go to games for work! We'd often get bylines for the games we reported scores on, which was great for a young person. It was the home paper for Notre Dame, so everyone read the sports section.

What important lessons or skills that you learned in your first job have been instrumental in your success?
I learned how important it was to be able to communicate well, especially writing. Since then I've been critical of everything I've written because I developed high standards at the paper. You have to really listen to what people are saying, especially in working in public policy. When I have someone telling me what happened, I have to get it right. You can't ever just "blow off" what people are saying, especially when you're reporting.

Is there a specific event in your first job that you learned something you still use today?
Every Friday at midnight someone would go pick up burgers at the tavern across the street. The first time I went I didn't have enough money. Lesson learned: don't promise things you can't deliver!

Did someone give you advice that you carried and/or later passed on to someone else?
The sports writers all helped me learn, but the managing editor, Jack Powers, really took me under his wing. While I was in college, he always made sure I had a summer job with the paper, and he even wrote me a recommendation for a college scholarship that I got. He knew I worked hard and was motivated to learn more, and therefore took the time to mentor me.

What obstacles that you faced had the greatest impact on your career path?
The summer after my freshman year in college while I was working for the Tribune, Jack Powers wanted me to learn discipline, so I worked in proofreading room. It was very hard for me to read over columns and columns that had to be perfect. It was tedious and boring, but it taught me how important attention to detail was for a reporter. But because I stuck it out and did a good job then, the next summer I got to go on the nighttime police beat. I'd jump in a squad car and drive around with a cop and learn the beat, then I'd go to the city hall office from 4:00 or 5:00 in the evening until midnight. I got to write about what happened that night for the next day's paper, which was exciting. It was really my stepping stone to get through college. I learned discipline and detail, which have been central to every other job I've had since, especially now as the publisher of magazines at the Democratic Leadership Council.

What people or outside factors affected your work ethic or motivated you the most to succeed?
The Editor of the daily at Northwestern.

What advice would you give to someone starting his or her first job?
It is important to work hard. You have to understand that your job is a responsibility; you have to show up on time and do the job you've agreed to when you are hired. Look for opportunities to learn and grow in every job. Even if it's one you'd rather not do, ask yourself what you can do there to help you move to a job that you really want to do.

What do you find most rewarding about your position today?
Working with and expressing ideas. I am now able to really influence things that make a big difference in the country by turning ideas into actions. For example, The National Service idea is now Americorps. We also recommended an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to lift people out of poverty. Welfare reform that's been enacted since focuses on benefits like the EITC to make work more valuable than welfare. In today's world a small group of people can make a big difference if they have smart ideas and the ability to communicate them.