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By Jason Gay for the Wall Street Journal

Our friend Tom Perrotta died Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at age 44, and if you never got a chance to meet him, all I can say is I wish you had.

If you read this newspaper, you got to know Tom through his tennis reporting, which was smart and thorough, rich with the sort of detail you don’t notice unless you’re around the sport all the time, which Tom was. Tom was always there, which was how he got to know Roger Federer. It’s how he knew Serena Williams, too. But he also knew the many players who never cracked the top 400, as well as the parents, coaches, trainers, umpires, and all the employees behind the scenes who make the tournaments happen. Tennis has a lot more of those people than it does legends and superheroes, and every one of them was important to Tom.

The man himself? He was aces. Tom was the Journal’s top writer at all the major tennis events, which meant that when the match ended — the moment when Federer raised his arms in triumph, or Rafael Nadal rolled to the red dirt in disbelief — it was Tom’s job to immediately render what happened and hit the send button, within a few minutes. There is pressure in that job. People can freak out. It isn’t uncommon, at a big sporting event, to see a reporter comically lose it on deadline. Tom didn’t lose it. He was unflappable, kind to colleagues and competitors, even when crunching a deadline. You could walk up to him right as a match concluded — he’d be typing away, an editor breathing down his neck, and you could ask him something unrelated, something totally unnecessary, like who won the Australian Open in 2009, and what time was the next LIRR back to Penn Station, and Tom would pause for a second, and say: I think that year was Rafa and Serena. And I’m pretty sure there’s a train at 9:33. Then click! He’d hit send on his own piece, which was always magic, a standard we aspired to.

Here’s a little secret about what it’s like to cover one of those major tennis tournaments: It’s just as great as it sounds. It isn’t like the job doesn’t have its hassles, or bad days, but most of the time, it feels like you’re getting away with something. Tom had the fortune to come up at a time when tennis had ascended to an epic moment, surrounded by icons like Venus and Serena, Roger and Rafa, Andy and Novak. He had a front-row seat to a generation of players who will be talked about 100 years from now. Sometimes, I would catch Tom’s eye during one of those crazy matches, when the players were cramping, going back and forth like prizefighters, and the stadium felt like it was about to lift off from all the crowd energy, and he’d give me this look that said: I can’t believe we get to do this. How lucky are we?

He got sick, diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 40, and he fought and fought, rallying that first season to make it to the U.S. Open, and then do nearly a full calendar of majors. The job got harder, which frustrated him, but what anchored him was his family: his wife, Rachel, and his two sons, Paul and Sean. They were everything to him. Over the past year, Tom often told me he was grateful for how the world had slowed down a bit, because it meant he could be at home with his family, a feeling he described in his final piece for the Journal. He was so young, and he’d been dealt a terribly unfair hand — it angered him; he confided that, too — but there were still moments he felt like a lucky guy.

This is how I want to remember him: This was a few years ago, in Paris, amid the French Open — he’d been through a wave of treatments, and he was feeling better, more himself, and leaving Roland Garros in the early evening, he was excited, because Rachel had flown into town. Tom picked out this place for all of us to go to dinner, not far from the Champs-Élysées, and we waited outside for a table for what seemed like hours, but we didn’t care, because it was one of those June twilights when the sun wasn’t in any kind of hurry, and more important: Rachel was here! Tom was so happy. Who could complain? A retired tennis pro walked by on the sidewalk, and Tom walked over and said a quick hello. It felt like Tom’s town, even if it wasn’t.

We sat down to dinner, late, and the meal went on and on, with dessert, and maybe a little more dessert, because why not? No one says this sort of thing in the moment, but in the back of your mind, you’re thinking: How many nights like this are we going to get?

When we finally paid the check and stepped outside, it was dark, and it was now raining, in the dreamy way you hope it rains in Paris. I asked Tom if he thought they were going to be able to play tennis tomorrow, and he said, who knows, he’d be there. He was always there. He smiled, and then he and Rachel walked off into the rain.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-our-friend-tom-perrotta-who-was-an-ace-11610028844

By: Kaitlyn Thompson (BSJ11, IMC17)

In 2018, Medill alumna Sierra Tishgart (BSJ12) left her dream job as a food writer and editor at New York Magazine for – cookware.

About a year ago, Tishgart had what she thought was a simple desire to become a more confident cook. She knew in order to motivate herself to cook more, she first had to replace her chipping set of pots and pans. Her instincts as a trained journalist led her to research first. A few Google searches later, she found herself quickly overwhelmed by the many cookware options available. From the type of material, to number of pieces, to the colors, Tishgart learned the possibilities for cookware were endless. In addition, most of the options she found were unnecessarily cost-prohibitive, too complicated to use or downright ugly.

Tishgart couldn’t accept the fact that finding the perfect cookware had to be so complicated. So, she took the matter into her own hands. Tishgart invited her friend (and co-founder) Maddy Moelis to help create a better cookware solution, one that was custom-built down to every last detail. They named it Great Jones, a line of beautiful yet practical pots and pans intended to help people, “feel equipped and empowered to cook more frequently.”

Over the course nine months, Tishgart and Moelis worked to bring Great Jones to life. In November 2018, they launched Great Jones online with a five-piece cookware set – the basic pieces Tishgart believes every cook needs in order to cook successfully at home. Since launch, the entrepreneurs have been celebrated by Forbes (named to their “30 Under 30” list) and others for modernizing the cookware shopping experience from start-to finish.

Kaitlyn Thompson (BSJ11, IMC17) recently spoke with the co-founder and Medill alumna about what it was like to go from magazine journalist to accidental entrepreneur. This is what Tishgart had to say about the adventure, condensed from an interview and in her own words.

Thompson: I think it’s fair to say you’ve been on quite a journey over the past year. If you could sum up creating Great Jones cookware, how would you describe it?

Tishgart: Our primary goal in creating our own line of cookware was to make people feel more confident cooking at home. For me, many things make me feel insecure when I try to cook at home. I’ve struggled with not knowing what pan to use, how to prepare the dish, or even just trying to get the perfect Instagram shot of my food. None of it left me feeling very confident in the kitchen. The irony is before I even tried to start cooking more, I couldn’t even find good tools to start – the right pots and pans. I knew if I didn’t feel confident in the kitchen, I was probably not alone.

Thompson: In the article you wrote in March 2019 for Bon Appétit, you talk about what it was like to quit your job and build a business (later to be called Great Jones) but to have to keep the business a secret. Now, the secret’s out! What’s it like to see people talking about your company?

Tishgart: It’s simply wild. It still feels a bit surreal to see Great Jones living and breathing. One year ago, no one held our products in their hands. Now, people are using the cookware, and it’s so fun to see the many ways they make the products work for them. For example, I love to see people use our cookware as bakeware. All of our pots and pans can go in the oven, so it’s fun to watch others make them multi-use.

Thompson: Early on, you decided to bring on a business partner – your friend Maddy Moelis. What made you decide you wanted a co-founder to help launch Great Jones?

Tishgart: I knew I had certain skills that Great Jones would need, like my journalism background and my relationships with chefs and other food editors, but I also knew I had some gaps. I brought Maddy on board because I knew she could fill those gaps, having learned lessons from working at Warby Parker and Zola in particular. As co-founders, we’ve put a lot of work into learning what we thrive at, what we do best independently, and what we do well together to make ourselves the best business leaders. Our company is changing rapidly. Our first hire was someone to run our social media accounts, but since then, we’ve brought on operations, customer experience, experiential marketing, data analytics. It’s been a great ride to see the growth and change with Maddy by my side.

Thompson: What do you think your time at Medill and Northwestern did to prepare you to start your own company?

Tishgart: I believe journalists make for great entrepreneurs. At its core, being an entrepreneur is about approaching strangers and pitching ideas. One of the first skills any journalist learns is how to ask total strangers for time, advice and help. Medill pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to sell myself and my ideas. I also think Medill instilled in me an ability to do really thorough research, something I use daily in my work on Great Jones.

Thompson: What was the most surprising thing you learned about yourself in the process of launching your own business?

Tishgart: I’ve learned the extent of my work ethic. Creating and running a company is so much work. I’ve also learned how rewarding it is to have the opportunity to not just create a set of products, but a strong workplace culture where people can feel supported. We have a team of all women right now, and I love that Great Jones is a safe workplace where everyone can grow and thrive. Finally, I have actually become a better cook! Perhaps more important than just improving my skills, I cook more. Our cookware has opened up the door to do exactly what I had always hoped: to make cooking a part of my everyday routine.

Thompson: As we close our time together, what advice would you give to Medill alums looking to start their own businesses?

Tishgart: I would encourage any potential entrepreneur, whether they are connected to Medill or not, to ask themselves why they are the right person to start the business or tell the story. I believe every entrepreneur needs to have a very compelling answer to that question. Ideas are everywhere, but what positioned Maddy and me for success with Great Jones was that we really made sense for this project. I spent five years immersed in the food world, and Maddy had a deep knowledge of the startup space, plus she knew cookware. When you know the answer is that you are the best person to bring that company or idea to life, then there’s one thing left to do. Go for it!

Tishgart and her business partner Moelis both reside in New York City. For more on Great Jones’ line of modern and accessible cookware, click here.

Kaitlyn Thompson is a marketing strategist, passionate storyteller, global citizen, green tea connoisseur and chili cook-off champion always asking “why.”

Cover photo: from left: Sierra Tishgart and Maddy Moelis

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