What I Learned from Thomas Lake?

Sports Illustrated contributor, Atlanta Magazine editor and Gordon alum Thomas Lake came to visit us in class. Not often do I stand in the same room as someone so accomplished or in so intimate a setting. I wish I could have recorded the conversation because he said a lot of important things that I'm sure will get lost in the back of my brain. But one important thing I learned was: hard work is rewarded. Lake spent a lot of time working on the bottom doing boring stories and boring assignments for little pay. But he kept at it. He worked hard, turned in stories at an incredible rate and finally found himself a job. His position at Sports Illustrated was definitely a bit of providence because most people don't rise to that status so quickly, but his hard work put him in a position to attain his dream. The other piece of advice i found most interesting was find your own stories. Go out there and look. Some of Lake's best stuff came when he looked into a cut and dry situation and found something that went deeper. Or he took a subject that no one else wanted except for him. Those are the two most important things I learned and I'm sure I won't forget them anytime soon.