Last Thursday, 20 Loyola students had the opportunity to head to New York City to embark on a one-of-a-kind guided tour of the New York Times building with editor and Loyola graduate Peter Blair.
The fourth floor was filled with coffee mugs, scattered pens and notebooks surrounding each cubicle. Blair shared that during his time at Loyola, he did not have an opportunity to visit the Times building, so getting the opportunity to give back to the Loyola community is something he is truly grateful for.
“Being able to host students here is special for me, but I think it’s special for them too because it’s an opportunity to see where you can get to with a Loyola degree, as well as just learning about the industry,” Blair said.
Before sitting down for a slice of New York pizza, Blair showed students the museum portion of the building. Here, they saw Pulitzer Prizes that journalists have won over the years, sports memorabilia and more.
Blair emphasized that, like Loyola, the Times is mission-driven. He shared that this mission is special to see, and being able to share that with students is meaningful.
Students were then brought into one of the main conference rooms, where they were joined by other editors and new hires of the Times. This staff walked students through their backgrounds in journalism while emphasizing that the right job will find you when the time is right.
From here, students asked the editors questions about their chosen fields of journalism and the different kinds of jobs they had before landing at the Times. This day was filled with eagerness, excitement and an experience that students can carry with them throughout their careers.
Blair concluded the meeting by sharing that his experience at Loyola taught him to be a good colleague, a good manager and an overall good person.
“The empathy, social justice skills and priorities that I picked up at Loyola are something I have carried with me throughout my whole career.”