Associated Press writer and former Daily Collegian Editor Jerry Schwartz returned to Penn State to participate in the Fall 2000 Foster Conference of Distinguished Writers and to spend time with the students at the Collegian.
Also taking time out for Collegian students was the Spring 2001 Foster Conference of Distinguished Writers participant Ann Gerhart.
Gerhart is a writer for the Washington Post's Style section.
Schwartz spent the week of Oct. 16 meeting with classes, including a stop at the Collegian for an informal discussion with 14 Collegian students.
Many students were interested in knowing how the Collegian helped him in his career.
"The Collegian was the most important educational experience I've ever had," Schwartz said. "Every single day, there's something that I learned at the Collegian that helps."
The 1977 graduate of Penn State said he remembered walking into the Collegian as a freshman and telling the editors that he wanted to write.
He was given the option of the police beat or greeks beat and, without going through Candidate School, started as a police reporter.
Schwartz held several other positions, including administration reporter, copy editor, news editor, editor in chief and associate editor.
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Schwartz said he has many fond memories of his days at the Collegian. He clearly remembers the parties the staff used to have where, by the end of the night, everyone was singing songs by the Beatles and hanging on to each other to prevent from falling over.
"We were a group that really cared about each other," he said. "And everytime we see each other now, we pick up where we left off."
Schwartz began working at The Associated Press in 1977 as a reporter and editor at the organization's New York City bureau.
He wrote about a variety of topics in New York City before becoming a national writer two years ago.
He has been the recipient of honors from The Associated Press Managing Editors Association and from Easter Seals. Schwartz has also taught feature writing classes at New York University.
Schwartz joined Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and novelist Anna Quindlen and The Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Mark Bowden at the 2000 Foster Conference of Distinguished Writers.
Gerhart and Wil Haygood, staff writer for the Boston Globe, spoke at the Spring 2001 Conference.
Gerhart is the recipient of the Sigma Delta Chi's Distinguished Writing Award and the SDX first place for an investigative series.
She has had the opportunity to write many stories, including profiles of Tipper Gore and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, The Miss America Pageant and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
The conference, named after Lawrence and Ellen Miller Foster, is aimed at motivating students to become better writers.
