In honor of my adviser, Mary Dedinsky

Kass and I are thrilled to announce that we have endowed The Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship in honor of the Northwestern University professor's long-time service to Medill and journalists everywhere.

Mary is a baller. Before joining the Northwestern University faculty, Mary served as an education reporter, investigative reporter, editorial writer, metropolitan editor, and director of editorial operations. She also opened the door for many women in the field as the first woman to be named managing editor of a major metropolitan newspaper.

At Northwestern, she continued to pave the way as both the associate dean and director of the journalism program at NU-Q, Medill's pioneering program in Qatar that is trying to bring journalism education to an area of the world without a long history of a free press.

Nonetheless, it was not just Mary's epic career that necessitated Kass and me to honor her. Her impact on me as a student, professional, and person makes us so excited about endowing this scholarship program.

As a scrawny freshman at Northwestern's journalism school, I had the great fortune to be assigned Mary as my advisor. She was the exact person I needed in my life to challenge me, push me, and encourage my craziness.

But let me be clear. The relationship was not always easy, and she never took it easy on me. As a student in her Newswriting class, a rite of passage for all of Medill's aspiring journalists, Mary gave me one of my only Fs in my academic career. And I deserved it, having submitted a story with a laundry list of issues, including the misspelling of a dead man's name.

"Mike! Talk to me. Was this a typo or didn't you know how to spell his name?" she wrote atop the story. "This could have made the paper this way if you didn't correct it. Not very nice for the survivors and for the deceased."

A promising young journalist I was not! But Mary saw my entrepreneurial flame and later told the Northwestern alumni publication, "Being his adviser, I felt I needed to always be on my toes. [Mike] was coming up with new ideas and new things, and it was a challenge for me to think imaginatively and creatively. It is so exciting when you meet someone who inspires you."

The truth is that Mary was (and still is) the inspiration.

I brought Mary the idea for my first company, University Wire, a newswire for college newspapers. Mary pushed me to pursue it even though the commercial internet was starting.

When Kass and I got engaged, Mary was one of my first calls. And after we walked down the aisle, Mary was one of the first to congratulate us, having traveled to Florida from Chicago to support us.

When Kass and I called Mary in Qatar during the pandemic to ask her permission to name the scholarship after her, she was shocked. And in true Mary fashion, she immediately asked how she could help raise even more money to increase its impact.

What is no longer a shock to anyone is that the media and truth-finding are under attack. With this scholarship, Kass, Mary, and I want to provide the resources necessary to allow young students to pursue their dreams of being journalists with impact. And if not now, Kass and I asked, then when?

The Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship removes the financial barriers for students who otherwise would not be able to pursue this important work – work that is not known for its high pay or excessive benefits.

The first recipient of Mary's scholarship will start this fall. Our preference is to fund a student who will add diversity and a fresh voice to the class.

Kass and I made the gift and are announcing it publicly today to inspire others to join us in supporting graduate journalism. And we are thrilled to report that the estate of a late Medill grad generously and anonymously matched our gift. If you would like to join us, please reach out to me.

Mary, thank you for your inspiration and friendship over all these years. And please excuse any errors in this piece.