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Kim Tan

Kim Tan

South editor | The Boston Globe | Class of 1984

College is where Kim Tan fell in love with all things journalism.  

Correction: almost all things journalism. 

“I remember smelling like the photo lab after long afternoons of trying to develop prints worthy of praise from the photojournalism instructor, an epic fail for me most days," says Tan, the South editor at The Boston Globe.

"And many nights banging out stories on the typewriter, a bottle of Wite-Out nearby, nearly empty, and my long-suffering apartment mate in the next room trying to get some sleep.  

“I remember, fondly, (the late) Professor Robert Reid, who gave out Fs faster than you can run into his classroom before his hour began, but who taught me not just to report and write but also to do it with heart. There were other professors, whose names escape me now, who also left deep, positive impressions and convinced me that doing journalism — newspapers in particular — was a worthy and noble thing.  

“Funny, I still feel that way today.”