Profile: Gretchen Willenberg

On the Road to a Career in Publishing and Communications

Gretchen Willenberg set out for law school in the fall of 1995 with the growing suspicion that she was mak--ing a big mistake. An honors graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Willenberg knew plenty about the legal profession from friends and advisors, and practically nothing about how she might turn her genuine love of books and language into a fulfilling vocation. Law school seemed like her only option. Until, that is, she heard about a graduate program at the Harvard Extension School that offered a Certificate in Publishing and Communications (CPC).

"I was still a law student when I made my first appointment to discuss the CPC program with an advisor," Willenberg said. "I quit law school after that, took a job at the Coop in Harvard Square to pay the bills, and signed up for my first CPC course, EXPO S-170 Principles of Editing, with Kim Cooper. When I realized I could do what I love for a living, everything just started falling into place."

This spring, less than two years after she started the program--and the same semester she would have finished law school--Willenberg received her CPC and hopped a plane for London, where she plans to work as a copyeditor for several months before returning to the US and the world of New York publishing.

Willenberg's background is typical of CPC candidates, college graduates with some writing experience who wish to gain technical and professional training for careers in publishing and media production. Like Willenberg, many candidates are just starting down a career path, while others, older than Willenberg and well-established professionally, are hoping to make a mid-career change. Still others are already employed by publishing houses, magazines, or news organizations, and seek to enhance their technical skills and professional contacts through CPC courses.

Established in September 1995, the CPC program has graduated a handful of candidates; about two dozen more are officially enrolled, and another dozen are taking graduate-level courses with the CPC program in mind. Most CPC candidates work full- or nearly full-time to pay for their graduate education. After giving up her job at the Coop, Willenberg temped for nearly a year before securing a part-time position as an editorial and research assistant in the Psychology Department at Harvard. She found her new position not only fascinating but also flexible enough to accommodate the academic schedule for the CPC, which includes seven graduate-level courses and a 200-hour internship.

Willenberg clearly has a flair for her new-found career, but she credits her Extension School coursework for giving her an edge on the job. "The CPC program is graduate school, and the training I received there paid off," Willenberg said. "At one of my internships, another intern, who had gone though a much less rigorous publishing program, spent his whole time copying and filing, while I was doing the work of an editor. No one needed to explain to me what a galley proof was. I knew the terms; I had practice doing the work. The CPC tells employers that I'm not starting from scratch and that I'm committed to the profession."

As for where her career will take her, Willenberg hopes to do something "bookish" in London. "It's going to be a big adventure," she observed, "and it sure beats cramming for the bar exam."