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Back home in Minneapolis after a week on the road, I submitted a 5000-word story to the professor who taught my History of Civil Rights course. He encouraged me to publish it, and so I addressed a copy to Steven Lorinser, editor in chief of the student-produced Minnesota Daily. I was ecstatic when he phoned to arrange a meeting.

I found Lorinser waiting for me at a secluded table in the Eric Sevareid Journalism Library. He was dressed in slacks, loafers, and a crisp shirt. His hair was neatly parted on the side and he comported himself like a professional. My head was shaved and I showed up in Chuck Taylors, a tattered sweatshirt, and frayed jeans.

Lorinser was impressed with the reporting I had done from Texas, and asked about my other interests. He called me gutsy, committed to printing my story in the Daily, and promised more opportunities for me to write for the paper.

I described my backpacking journeys in South America and Europe, and the extensive road trips I’d taken to every corner of the United States. As we talked, we discovered a shared love of the Northwoods and canoeing. I told him I’d spent five consecutive summers at a canoe camp on the Canadian border as a teenager, culminating in a 30-day paddle across northern Ontario. I went on to explain how those experiences had led to employment guiding youth on canoe and backpacking trips.