If you’ve yet to have the pleasure of knowing the Communiqué’s adviser Sara Bauknecht, allow me to correct that egregious wrong.
I’ve shared a lot of opinions during my time with the Communiqué, so trust me when I say this is my most passionate: Sara is the best thing about Chatham University.
Sara is by far the kindest, most patient mentor I have ever had.
She’s that rare kind of humble where, despite her many accomplishments as our adviser, she would probably tell me this headline is hyperbolic before gracefully shifting praise to the staff.
But it’s not. Sara is the kind of editor you wouldn’t dare dream you’ll ever have in your life. She’s the epitome of everything an editor and mentor should be: gentle, considerate and so sharp that I’ll bet she immediately flagged that referring to someone by their first name is, in fact, not AP style.
This is likely one of the only Communiqué articles in recent years that Sara has not given suggestions and feedback on — it was a staff effort to keep this a surprise.
Because of that dedication, Sara could easily claim credit for all of the Communiqué’s success.
Our staff has grown significantly over the years, in large part due to her reaching out to prospective students and encouraging them to come to pitch meetings. We won four awards from the College Media Association and a Golden Quill because she helped us submit entries to contests.
Even our new print layout comes from Sara’s hard work; she secured funding to take us to the College Media Association’s conference where our layout was critiqued, prompting then-editor-in-chief Carson Gates to rework it. Sara, of course, looked it over and gave more constructive criticism.
But Sara never takes that credit. She’s the kind of mentor who makes sure everyone else eats first, literally. Whenever we get donuts for a layout meeting, Sara always waits until we’ve all had one before she gets one. She always puts us ahead of herself.
It’s evident in the fact that she sacrifices every other weekend to help us edit stories on Saturday morning for layout and stays up late into the night on Sunday to give us her signature “friendly feedback” on the final draft of print.
Even when Sara is giving critiques, you can’t help but feel supported because she is always thoughtful about how she goes about it and the language she uses. Every Tuesday, she comes to pitch meetings to share story ideas, advice and “areas for growth.”
She has a work ethic that makes you want to work harder too. She approaches every challenge with a genuine, calm curiosity that makes anything feel manageable. She meets others’ concerns with such a strong sense of ethics and empathy.
I’m speaking broadly about her work because Sara’s work is broad. She leads the student-run integrated communications agency on campus, she teaches public relations and journalism classes and advises the Communiqué, to name a few of her many contributions to our University.
But let me speak more narrowly about Sara’s role in my life. For the past three years, Sara Bauknecht has been my personal hero.
Truthfully, I was lost when I came to Chatham. I had no real sense of who I was or what I wanted to do with my life. I thought I wanted to study creative writing, graduate early and become a publicist, but I never found any joy in it.
She’s the reason I first applied to a summer internship at Pittsburgh Magazine. At that internship, I fell helplessly in love with journalism, but I hesitated to change my plans. When I returned in the fall, I took Sara’s News Writing and Editing class.
Watching Sara work made me realize that I didn’t want to be a publicist anymore. I wanted to be like her: an editor who makes you want to be better, an editor who makes you better.
She encouraged me to follow my passion and change my major, helping me through the entire process as my new academic adviser.
Because of Sara, I found work that makes me excited to get out of bed in the morning, sometimes before the sun is even up because I’m on deadline, but even in those moments I am happier than I ever was before becoming a journalist.
She told me to apply for scholarships and enter contests that I was so certain I would never win, but because of her urging and advice, I managed to win.
Whenever I made a mistake, she taught me how to fix it. Whenever I doubted myself or my abilities, she told me I was capable. Whenever I wanted to achieve something, she helped me do it.
Simply put, Sara changed my life for the better.
She once told me to only stay somewhere where I’m appreciated and I feel that my work is valued.
Sara, thank you for making a place like that for me at Chatham. Thank you for making it hard to leave. I hope you always remember the impact you have had on my life — on all of our lives.
