When Cynthia Wang met Bret Begun, she thought he was incredibly awkward, the very trait he advises the cherubs not to be in his lectures.
“He was so young and very enthusiastic for journalism,” Wang said with a laugh. “But there was also something very cool about him. I knew we would be friends.”
Wang and Begun have again teamed for an interview “how to” session in 2011, the 11-year anniversary of the lecture. They also collaborated on a profile-writing workshop for the second time.
Wang’s journalistic journey began in 1988, when she was a Medill cherub. After graduating from Medill, she worked for People Magazine and has been a writer there for 19 years. But she has not forgotten her cherub roots. Since 1994, Wang has spent her weeklong summer break teaching cherubs. Begun, a cherub in 1993, still talks about how he missed her by a year.
“I would’ve met her at the cherub program,” Begun said. “But instead I met her in 1995 when I was a CA and she was teaching magazine writing for the second summer.”
After graduating from Medill in 1998, Begun worked at Newsweek until January 2011. He is now the deputy director of editorial content for Park & Bond’s mens retail site. Because of his work schedule, Begun was not a full-time instructor this summer, but he managed to teach the students for one week.
Although Begun and Wang were only there for a short time, the students ended week four feeling positive about the future.
“It’s great to see that no matter how successful you are, you’re still able to return to your roots and give others hope that they can be successful, too,” said Britni Berg, of Illinois.
During Begun’s first summer as an instructor in 2001, Cherub Director Roger Boye decided that Begun and Wang should do the interviewing techniques lecture together. A decade later, the lecture is still a hit with the cherubs. In fact, they rave about it.
“The interview lecture was just great,” said Ariana Joharjian, of Rhode Island. “I love how they incorporated humor into it. They made it memorable, so we’re still learning journalism techniques.”
Wang said the interviewing lecture is one of the highlights of her week each summer.
“We always have a good time,” she said. “Adding entertainment to anything makes it easier to remember the lessons.”
The two are a natural fit and captured the cherubs’ attention, whether it was during interviewing techniques or profile writing. They shared their stories with the group, which makes Wang and Begun relatable, Berg said.
“I like their teaching style,” Berg said. “They used a lot of humor to draw our attention and always kept us involved. But anytime they were together, they fed off each other’s humor.”
While they were constantly bantering, both Begun and Wang couldn’t say enough about each other. Their respect and admiration for one another was apparent when they interacted.
“It can be hard to work with another person, but it’s so easy to teach with her,” Begun said. “She’s generous with her time. We just know how to work well together.”
Wang said she looks forward to catching up with him every year at cherubs.
“He’s charming, easy going and has great anecdotes,” Wang said. “He has a way with students, and I admire that. He’s absolutely wonderful.”
