The day I received feedback on my first journalism assignment at Northwestern, I was devastated. My professor had covered the piece in comments, but most notable was the grade at the top: A Medill F. 

Obviously, I didn’t take this as a great omen. NU is notorious among journalists for its Medill F, a grade awarded for grammatical and factual errors. In my case, I’d misspelled a building’s name by a letter, and it felt like an abysmal starting place. 

Over the next few days, I was kicking myself for the mistake. I thought my career was destined to fail, all because I couldn’t make it through my first journalism assignment. In all honesty, it took me far too long to move on. But looking back on it now, I’ve gained some much-needed context.

Nearly three years later, I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes, both in journalism and in the rest of my life. It’s been through journalism, however, that I’ve learned to approach the other mistakes I’ve made in life. 

At the end of the day, a mistake in journalism results in a correction. Usually that’s a note in the article to indicate something has changed, alongside an apology for the error. In many cases, this is the end of the issue. But every once in a while, you encounter an error that causes harm. 

These mistakes are the ones that really matter, both in journalism and in life. They’re the ones that can cause permanent damage and impact your relationships, and the way you respond to the results of your actions is very telling about who you are as a person. 

I have a feeling a decent amount of you are feeling a lot like I was as a freshman — desperate to prove yourself, striving for perfection and terrified of falling short. I don’t have all the answers, but I want you to know that your four years (give or take) at this school won’t be defined by the small stuff. A single grade, audition or game won’t be anyone’s lasting memory of you. That will come from the kind of person you are. 

In many ways, NU has become home for me, and our community is incredibly vibrant. I hope this Orientation Issue helps you see the start of that and answers a few of your questions along the way. But we can always do better, and there are always students pushing to improve the future of the University. In your own way, I encourage you to be a part of that process, leaving NU better than you found it. 

You’re about to embark on an amazing adventure, and I’m excited to see where it takes you. You’ll make mistakes along the way, just like the rest of us, but I want to leave you with some words of assurance. You might doubt it at times, and your path might look different from what you expected, but I can promise you that coming here was not a mistake. 

Jacob Fulton

Editor in Chief

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @jacobnfulton