UCCS alumni utilize education for success - Edie Adelstein

When Edie Adelstein graduated from UCCS with a degree in art history, she had no idea she would end up with a career in journalism.

"I had no idea what I was going to do. I enjoyed writing about art. Period. And I didn't know how that was going to happen; I was not into journalism in the least," she said.

Still, she ended up as an editor for a newspaper. For two years now, Adelstein has been the Arts Editor at the Colorado Springs Independent.

The Independent, founded in 1993, is known for being Colorado Springs' more liberal newspaper, covering local news and events, along with investigative reporting.

"I love the paper, I love our mission, kind of what we stand for in this town. I work with really, really great people," she said.

Adelstein's jump from what she thought she wanted to do to her eventual career started with an internship.

"I was able to be at the right place at the right time and make the right connections," said Adelstein.

When the visual and performing arts chair, Suzanne MacAulay approached Adelstein in her junior year with the news that the Independent was looking for interns, she seized the opportunity.

She interned at the Independent for two semesters. After her tenure as an intern, Adelstein began freelancing for them, eventually earning a permanent job position. Over time, her job at the Independent grew, and it wasn't long before she earned the title of arts editor.

Although visual arts are her main focus, Adelstein has the opportunity to write about and interview many interesting artists and curators from different realms.

One of those people was Fernando Botero, a Colombian contemporary artist.

She had been trying to reach Botero for an interview for months. "He was in Greece at the time," she explained. "I had been trying to call him for half an hour and they kept hanging up on me."

She went on to say that the maids didn't speak a lot of English, but she finally got through to him and had to yell into the phone because of a bad connection.

"The whole office could hear me, but I got the interview, so that was really cool."

Experiences like that couldn't have happened if things had worked out as planned.

Though Adelstein started at UCCS as an English major, she greatly disliked it and attributes much of her success to switching her major to art history. She was able to study what she really wanted to study, and she said that this was when her strengths came out. She graduated in Spring 2008 with Summa Cum Laude honors.

Adelstein's simple advice for students going onto the job market is "internships. Internships. And never say ‘no' when you're an intern; that will get you very far."

She also said that building relationships with your professors, especially out of college, is crucial. "Dr. MacAulay got me to the Independent; that was strictly due to my professor-student relationship [with her]."

But some of her success must also be attributed to her work-ethic. Even at 6:30 on a Monday night, Adelstein was quick to return to the Independent and finish up some work before she headed home for the day.

According to Adelstein, the secret to success is, "Making the most of whatever you can, even if they don't have your major and you love to write, you just kick ass in every place you can to write."