Macalester College

Sometimes, they’re cleverly packaged approaches for a strategic story like a big campaign or a new leader. Sometimes, they’re a different type of story altogether: a way-out-there idea so crazy that it just might work.

It’s that unorthodox second approach that I took for a pitch that turned into “Biography of Old Main.” It was a twist on the typical “here’s a history of our most beloved old building” story.

In the pitch sheet I shared with Julie (which contained 10 distinct ideas!), I recommended a feature that would start with the iconic building’s history. But it would also capture the interesting people, joyful events, and quirky elements that continued to make Old Main a vital space today.

Here’s what Julie says about the initial pitch for the story:

I remember that you pitched this as a story you really wanted to write, but you weren’t sure if it would fit into our content plan. However, when our sesquicentennial year rolled around and I was looking for content to celebrate that milestone, this story seemed like a perfect fit.

We’ve had good responses from alumni with stories that incorporate archival information. These stories perform well on our Facebook platform, garnering strong engagement.

In summary: weird idea, perfect timing, promising elements. The best stories come from this type of true collaboration, where an editor brings an insider’s perspective and I offer up ideas and my usual enthusiasm for alumni magazine storytelling.

We were ready to go.

Select a “source starter list,” then build with care

For almost all stories I work on with clients, there is an internal list of “must-have” sources. Those might be administrative leaders, key faculty members, or VIP alums.

It was true for this feature, too. Here’s how Julie thought about it:

In choosing sources, I wanted to make sure that I incorporated voices from the wide range of disciplines that are currently housed in Old Main — from English, to Classical Mediterranean and Middle East, History, and Religion — as well as diverse perspectives from faculty members who have offices in the building, students who learn, work and hang out in the building, and staff who keep the building up and running.

I love having these guideposts — but I also believe that it’s worth following where the reporting takes you.

Since Macalester’s St. Paul campus is just minutes from Capstone HQ, I spent significant time in the building. I chatted with visitors and strolled down the hallways at different times of the day to get a sense of energy shifts over the day.

As part of every interview, I asked, “Who else should I be talking to? What am I missing?”

Those questions led me to a student who created balloon swords for a class, a faculty member who fed squirrels from her treetop window, and a staff member who lovingly cared for a garden’s worth of plants in the building’s study nooks.

Highlight details that delight

I spent hours conducting interviews and poring over the history of the building.

When a professor made an offhand comment about the building’s sluggish elevator, I knew I needed a number to back it up. I pulled up my phone’s stopwatch and tested it myself, then integrated my findings into the story.

It was a tiny element that resonated with Julie, too:

I loved learning that the elevator ride in Old Main is precisely 37 seconds long — long enough to have a ‘reasonable-length conversation!’

In the end, I was able to share a dozen tiny vignettes about the building beyond its viewbook-worthy status:

• The religious studies professor who hosts a popular chai event a few times a semester
• The surprisingly moving backstory of a popular “Bagel Monday” event
• The truth behind a rumor that students had once led a cow to the building’s top floor

These are the stories of a building that has meant something to its community for more than a century, and that continues to matter today.

Here’s how it resonated

It’s no easy task to tell a story about a building that all readers — students, faculty, and alumni — know well.

That’s why I was thrilled to get feedback from an English professor who has a two-decade history working in the building:

I wanted to let you know that I think your article on Old Main is wonderful! It flows so well and really captures the flavor of past and current life in the building. Loved all the quotations from everyone.

I even loved learning that there were folks quibbling with research I did with the college’s archivist!

Here’s what Julie says:

Three alums wrote to contest the myth of the cow on the fourth floor of Old Main. They shared stories of family members who claimed to have brought a cow to the fourth floor. The stories had similar details, but different historical time frames.

I’ve shared this feedback with our archivists. I’m happy because that was the last section of the story, so I know they read it all.

Telling the story of a building is also a way to tell the stories of the people who inhabit it, love it, and make it relevant year after year.

I am grateful to Julie for her thoughtful insights, for designer Kat Braz, who brought the story to life in the magazine, and to the time that folks spent with me to share their own stories.

It was a joy to share this building’s biography to the tens of thousands of Macalester alums who have spent time in this incredible space.