This was composed at high altitude in a tiny cabin alongside a trout lake in British Columbia, so forgive the fishing analogy I’m about to use.
Lake HiHium, where I recently spent five days in June before taking over as Drexel’s new executive director of publications, is home to lake birds with elegant, Egyptian profiles that on a foggy day from a distance give them a Loch Ness silhouette. If you’ve never heard a loon, they have a lovely, haunting call. And they’re master swimmers. Fisherman love them and hate them, because their presence is often a sign that fish are nearby. But they’re also notorious for following behind fishermen’s boats until a fish bites a lure—then the loon swims in underwater at the last minute and snatches the reward.
That’s pretty much what’s happening with this issue of Drexel Magazine. Owing to the timing of my hire, I’ve come in as editor in the magazine’s final stages, but I didn’t have anything to do with its creation.
This issue was conceived very capably under the previous management, so I won’t go on about how great it is as if I had a hand in it, though it is.
Instead, let me introduce myself. I fish—poorly. I’m a third-generation Oregonian, which my parents tell me is fairly rare. I studied magazine journalism at the University of Oregon and have been an editor and writer for various print, magazine and digital publications for more than 16 years. I’ve been a beer writer, a women’s issues reporter, an executive profiler and briefly an attention-deprived social media manager. Before coming to Drexel, I spent seven-and-a-half years at the Philadelphia Business Journal, where I produced weekly special reports and a short-lived but award-winning quarterly magazine.
Like a lot of people, my husband and I came to Philadelphia for graduate school. When we moved here, the IRS building at 30th Street was our post office, the Cira Centre was just a blueprint and Michael Solomonov was still several years away from making his reputation as chef at Marigold. West Philadelphia hooked us with its Victorian architecture and giant, dappled sycamores—not to mention free street parking—and we stayed.
From our vantage point as residents, we’ve watched Drexel’s progress as it gained a medical school, a law school and natural sciences academy, plus countless smaller milestones. Sometimes we’ve complained about navigating endless campus construction, but it’s been a pleasure watching our “left of center” community improve each year.
I feel fortunate to be joining Drexel right now, and from my new vantage point as a part of this university, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Sincerely,
Sonja Sherwood / Editor