COM’s prize-winning photojournalists reflect
What they learned at BU helped them in the field
BU’s College of Communication recently staged a two-day celebration of its 20 alumni who have won Pulitzer Prizes in journalism. At a symposium at which they discussed their craft, four winners in the photography category, Daniel Goodrich (COM’75) of Newsday, Stan Grossfeld (COM’80) of the Boston Globe, Susan Walsh (COM’87) of the Associated Press, and Justin Lane (COM’95) of the European Pressphoto Agency, reflected on what they learned at BU that helped their careers.
Daniel Goodrich
“I came to BU thirty years ago, so I don’t think most of the buildings were built when I was here. I remember learning a little bit about what I took with me to photography here, which was just be tenacious…and it served me well.”
Stan Grossfeld
“There’s a couple of things. Number one, you damn well better have a good time (while at BU), and two, you’d better learn something beyond what you’re going to learn in the schoolbooks. There might be some throw-away line from somebody here that’s going to set you off and open a door to you, and I want you to stay open to that. That’s what the BU community allows to happen here.”
Susan Walsh
“I think one of the things I learned is that there’s a lot of personal growth…(BU) is so diverse, so you all of a sudden realize that not everybody is like you nor you like them…I had gone to a really tiny high school. But here in college I was able to meet people, and different people. One of the things about learning about life is that up here (at BU) we grow and mature as an adult. I got most of the confidence that I didn’t have when I was in high school.”
Justin Lane
“I worked on the Daily Free Press. I just ended up working there full time, and I got some experience there that I ended up using.”