A Few of Our Favorite Things W&L's communications team writers, editors and designers look back on some of our top stories from 2025.

Office of Communications and Public Affairs
December 16, 2025

Over the past year, the writers, editors and designers of the Communications and Public Affairs team at Washington and Lee University have produced hundreds of articles and numerous projects for both digital and print outlets. Our Columns website includes articles and features on our students, faculty, staff and alumni and shares the latest news from the university. The Leading Lives of Consequence campaign site includes up-to-date information on regional events around the country, profiles of alumni and stories about the meaning behind generous gifts to the university. And one of our signature publications, W&L: The Washington and Lee Magazine, features a different theme each issue with content showcasing the many ways the W&L community stays connected around that topic.

As we looked back on the variety of stories, projects and publications we produced in 2025, we wanted to bring you the stories behind the stories and the dreams behind the designs – in short, why we love what we do. Read on for more from our staff and catch up on some stories you may have missed!

The Grand Affair

At one point, I probably had 20 Calyxes spread out and opened on our conference room table. Over 100 years of Fancy Dress laid in front of me – from the 1920s Carnival in Venice costumes to Louis Armstrong and his trumpet to the emergence of color photos. Coworkers would poke their head in with the “Um … what’s going on here” look, and I’d bounce over with a yearbook going, “Look at this theme where the students dressed up in Colonial garb.” As you can probably gather, I’m a history nerd, and thumbing my way through old books really does brighten my day. But also as an alum now working for W&L, I love when we can transcend generations with a single article. My coworker Kelsey Goodwin expertly did that this year with her article, “On Our Honor,” when she interviewed a whole slew of former Executive Committee presidents. Elements like the Honor System, the Speaking Tradition, Mock Convention, FD and floating down the Maury (to name a few) are the spices that transform a college experience into a W&L experience, and, in a rapidly changing world, it feels so comforting to have them uniting all of us Generals.

Laura Lemon ’16, assistant university editor

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AI Conversations on Campus

The more I’ve had the privilege of talking with students, faculty and staff at the university about artificial intelligence and how our institution is responding to it, including for this article on the inaugural PLAI Summit, the more faith I have in W&L as a transformative educational experience for our students. We’re contending thoughtfully and collaboratively with a technological revolution and doing so in a way that I believe will set our students up for success as they head out into the world and pursue their careers. The more I learn about AI, the more faith I have in the liberal arts to address its human impact.

Kelsey Goodwin, writer

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The Literary Issue of W&L Magazine

Everything about this project was pure joy — just hearing the words “literary issue” during my initial discussion with editors Jessica Luck and Laura Lemon sparked my interest as a reader and a designer. But this turned out to be one of those themed issues that really delivered on its promise, both editorially and visually. As a creative director, I was thrilled with how my design team brought our editors’ words to life: from graphic designer Kolton Cannon’s inventive typography in the “Shenandoah at 75” feature, to NYC illustrator pal Kyle Ellingson’s brilliant artwork for “The Life of a Book,” to senior graphic designer Billy Chase’s gorgeous “Tribute to Tom Wolfe” — a piece that was called out for its look in a letter to our editor from Sheila Wolfe, no less! But my favorite part? That glorious cover, featuring Tom Wolfe ’51’s original typewriter, which has a permanent home in W&L’s Special Collections. That cover involved an amazing, not-as-easy-as-it-looks collaboration between myself and photographers Kevin Remington and Shelby Hamelman — we somehow succeeded in making a very ordinary object look extraordinary.

Jamie Lipps, director of publications and design

One project I really enjoyed this year was working on the Literary Issue of the magazine. Jamie Lipps, our director of publications and design, really drove the overall look and feel, and I was glad to help bring that vision to life. It’s a big project but also a lot of fun. One highlight was hearing that Sheila Wolfe, Tom Wolfe’s widow, had kind words about the issue — it was such a nice moment for the team. Projects like this are a great reminder of how rewarding it is when everyone comes together to create something readers enjoy.

Billy Chase, senior graphic designer

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Midnight Breakfast: A Tradition Worth Staying Up For

I’m kind of a history person, and I enjoy traditions, so this piece was really something that hit home for me. Plus, it afforded me the opportunity to reminisce about this particular tradition with some people I have enjoyed knowing over the years — people like Jerry Darrell, Scott Dittman, Mike Walsh, Jason Rodocker and Brendan Harrington ’01. Plus, there are not many stories where you get to interview the university president, and the conversation is pretty lighthearted. I think he enjoyed that, too! I just really had fun with this one, and looking through the archive photos of the event where people are having a great time really warms the heart. I also really connected with how much the W&L community treasures and shows up for its students.

Brett Strohsacker ’06 Gives a Bird’s-Eye View of Super Bowl Victory

I’ve written about Brett Strohsacker ’06 a few times in recent years, and that’s always fun for me because I am a lifelong Eagles fan. I used to be able to say “lifelong suffering Eagles fan,” but no longer. The Eagles have won the Super Bowl twice (2008 and 2025) in recent years, and I’ve been able to give people a look into what it’s like to be behind the scenes of something like that through Brett’s eyes. Brett’s always been professional and doesn’t give this fan any inside info, but it’s so much fun to be able to have this connection with him — especially since I was once an athletic communications person and can very much relate to the role he plays within his organization.

Brian Laubscher, director of internal communications

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Squirreled Away

I love taking on an assignment that allows me to learn something along the way, which is what made “Squirreled Away” one of my favorite pieces from this year. In writing about associate professor of biology Jessica LaPrice’s research on the hibernation cycles of 13-lined ground squirrels, I learned a lot about the squirrels themselves as well as how hands-on the research opportunities are here at W&L. I also enjoyed the interdisciplinary emphasis of the project, with Ady Dewey’s Fast Fashion class making quilts in the IQ center to not only learn about upcycling and the fashion industry but to provide needed insulation for the squirrels’ cages and mimic the conditions of an underground burrow while they hibernate.

Emily Innes Stanley, assistant director of constituent communications

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The Life of a Book

As has been mentioned above, the Literary Issue of W&L Magazine was a particular point of pride for a lot of our staff. The idea for the magazine had been percolating for a while, and the end result was in line with our collective vision. But one story I’m particularly proud of in that issue is “The Life of a Book.” When conceptualizing story ideas, we often start with a long list of potential people to interview, and our accomplished alumni make it extremely difficult to narrow the field.

After talking through our exhaustive list yet again, we decided to tell a different kind of story – about the process of each step of book publishing – with alumni from each facet sharing the ins and outs of what they do and giving us a peek into their lives. The idea-gathering process never ceases to amaze me; no matter how specific our criteria is, we have no trouble finding incredible W&L alumni who are leaders in that specific job/industry.

Not to mention, I got to talk with book publicist Craig Burke ’93 about one of my favorite books, “The Secret History,” and learn his own affinity for it. Storytelling at its best.

Jessica Luck, editorial director

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The Gift That Changed Everything

We often hear the sentiment “paying it forward” – so much so that it can begin to seem trite. However, after interviewing Robby Aliff ’91, ’97L, the reality of that simple phrase became clear. Robby’s generosity exemplifies the true meaning of gratitude and reinforces the intergenerational impact of a W&L education.

Julie Jackson, director of advancement communications

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Generals’ Club

This year’s Generals’ Club brochure was an absolute blast to work on. We wanted to come up with a special visual direction that would differentiate it from the past viewbooks and landed on the theme of trading cards. I researched how trading card designs changed depending on what era and what sport they were made for and then used this information to create a wide variety of differently styled sport cards. We wanted each card to have a unique look so that a rather formulaic layout would be stuffed with visual variety to make every page a new experience for the reader.

Kolton Cannon, designer