In the Right Place at the Right Time: A Journalism Journey

Written by Stephanie Gordon

Minnesota native Erin Mundahl, ’14, didn’t give the idea of a career much thought while she was a student, but admits that her path to and through the journalism world was due to being in the right place at the right time, and admits that there was also a decent dose of chance. 

“I hadn’t thought much about careers until the end of my time in school,” Erin said. “As a senior, I was very seriously considering law school, but also felt like I was worn out and needed a break before launching into another three years of schooling. I started to consider my options for writing as a career at that point.”

During her final semester of senior year, there just so happened to be a student columnist position open for the Collegian, which helped Erin get a few bylines under her belt before graduation. Through a journalism fellowship after graduation, she was able to work at a now defunct news site called Red Alert in Washington, D.C. “I was hopeful that I would be able to find a permanent job while I was there, but was unsuccessful and went back to Minnesota afterward. I had a hard time finding a full-time position and was working at a coffee shop,” she said. 

For Erin, this wound up being an opportunity in disguise. “After reading a Minneapolis Star Tribune article about the state’s supposedly rosy job market, I wrote back to the paper about the difficulties recent college graduates had getting hired,” said Erin. “They ran this as an op-ed later that week, and the exposure helped me get an introduction to the editor of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, who offered me an internship.” During that time, Erin continued to apply for other jobs, internships, and writing positions. Soon after, she was offered a Collegiate Network Journalism Fellowship at The Weekly Standard in D.C.

After completing her fellowship, she started working for Inside Sources, a small online news and opinion site covering energy. “I realized that I love energy as a topic. I find it fascinating how energy prices and access impact so many parts of domestic life, international politics, national security, and more.”

She eventually left journalism for communications consulting with FTI Consulting and now works with others who used to send her pitches and story ideas. “I’m part of a team based in D.C., Houston, Pittsburgh, and Denver, that works with energy companies on whatever public affairs or communication needs they have,” said Erin. “While most of our clients are in oil or natural gas, they operate in different regions and are looking for help with different types of communications work.”

Erin helps with outreach to media in advance of stories breaking, providing client leadership with media training, and researching opposition to energy production or development. The team also focuses on researching and writing blogs and sometimes reports to push back on flawed anti-energy narratives.

While reflecting on her time at Hillsdale, Erin said she was a student who wanted to learn everything, and double majored in English and French. “I took as many credits as possible as many semesters as I could and enjoyed diving into subjects outside of my majors,” she said. “Dr. J.A. Jackson’s classes taught me a lot about both literature and how we as human beings ought to interact with one another.” 

She also went on to say that she remembers discussions and classes during her time at Hillsdale that sparked questions that still stick with her to this day. “I suppose it was that overall feeling of being inducted into the conversation of the liberal arts and the ongoing quest to understand the Good, the True and the Beautiful,” Erin said. “The foundation I received in this has set me on a path where I can continue this pursuit of learning even on my own.”

Erin currently lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, Nathan. 

“Never stop learning,” she concluded. “Continuing curiosity is invaluable.”


Stephanie Gordon, a lifelong Hillsdale native, is the managing editor of the Student Stories Blog. She is married to chiropractor, Dr. Matt Gordon, and has three children – Eloise, Flora, and Jack. When she has a spare moment, she enjoys paleo baking, floating on Baw Beese Lake, and breaking a sweat at the gym.


Published in September 2022