English Grad Rachel Wharton Wins 2010 James Beard Foundation Award in journalism

CHASS graduate Rachel Wharton (Eng '94) has won a 2010 James Beard Foundation Award in journalism for her food-related columns in Edible Brooklyn. Rachel's column is called Back of the House, and she won for columns on “Egg,” “Roberta’s,” “Franny’s and Bklyn Larder.” Time magazine has called the Beard Foundation awards the "Oscars of the food world." Rachel says of her experience in the Department of English:

"You sometimes hear people with undergraduate degrees in English joke about how little this kind of degree can prepare you for a real job. But mine from NCSU not only prepared me for exactly what I do today as a full-time food writer, it got me a job before I even graduated -- as a writer for Coastwatch, an award-winning statewide magazine about coastal issues (including seafood, of course) produced right on campus.

"My coursework in writing and editing was the key: In fact, my copyediting professor (Nancy Margolis) was the hardest copy editor I've ever come across, and she prepared me well for the grumpy copy desk at the New York Daily News, where I worked for years as a features reporter covering food. And my senior thesis adviser (Rod Cockshutt), himself an N&O reporter, was also instrumental in teaching me not just how to write and report but also how to craft story ideas.

"And of course, my very first real published article was in the Technician, though sadly it wasn't about food. (If I recall, it was about Isaac Stern playing in Reynolds Coliseum. Back then, the basketball team actually did, too.) My only regret is that I didn't take advantage of all the top-notch agricultural and food science professors at NCSU I've since had to interview."

-- submitted by Professor of English David Covington