A 50th Reunion Reflection

Laurie Hays ’75 remembers her post at The Exonian.

Exeter was where I first experienced freedom, having been released by my parents from an all-girls private school where I felt suffocated. I’m pretty sure I used that exact word back then. The Academy was also the first place I experienced panic attacks, took up smoking and looked at the possibility of being a total failure as I got to know all of my classmates.

I found my life’s passion, and a good way to hide from academics, at The Exonian. I vividly remember the day that Roy Cohn ’74 said to me, “We have chosen you to be the first woman chairman of The Exonian because it’s about time for a woman to lead the paper.” (He might have said “girl.”) He made sure to clarify that this was not a DEI decision, adding, “We also think you are the best person for the job.” Thank you, Roy!

During my 40-year run as a professional journalist, I always looked back on my time at The Exonian as the best chance that anybody ever gave me to develop a vision and share it with others. I remember looking around the newsroom and feeling for the first time empowered to shape ideas and try to be inspiring. Most people don’t think of their high school newspaper as a big deal, but it was to me!

We were a great team and, as the announcement stressed, we shared duties equally. Bill Bradley was editor in chief; Eric Nordell, managing editor; Mary Gotschall and Edward Eliot, editorial and features editors. And Paul Bentel, the business manager, saved us from bankruptcy as the ad market deteriorated.

Laurie Hays ’75 has worked at Bloomberg News as a senior executive editor and also at The Wall Street Journal for 23 years as a reporter, Moscow correspondent and editor. She worked on a team that won a 2003 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting on corporate corruption scandals.

This piece was originally published in the Summer 2025 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.