How Pitt Magazine’s new editor-in-chief touched down in Western Pennsylvania

Of all the things Larry Fitzgerald accomplished during his other-worldly athletic career, it’s something he didn’t do that sticks with me.

The University of Pittsburgh legend last played a professional football game five years ago. Already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame for his two-year star turn as a Panther, he’s a lock to go into the Pro Football Hall as early as next year.

Yet, Fitzgerald never actually retired — at least publicly — from the career he dominated for two decades.

“Life is like a book,” he said in 2022. “I didn’t feel like I should say I was retiring because that’s not what I was doing. I’m simply turning the page to the next chapter in my life.”

I do feel a certain kinship (though in no way athletically) to Fitzgerald on this front. Until last fall, I’d lived in Arizona for 25 years, not all that far from where he was a record-breaking wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals.
And while I’m still decades from my own retirement, the idea of turning the page — a new adventure — has fueled me of late.

This edition marks my first as Pitt Magazine’s editor-in-chief, a badge I wear with immense pride. That’s as much so for its service to Pitt’s dedicated alumni, committed community supporters, faculty, staff and students as it is for the opportunity to work with a talented team that pours its heart into every edition of this award-winning publication.

I visited Pittsburgh with my wife, Lindsey, for the first time barely a year ago. We stared at the city views from PNC Park and the top of the inclines; we saw the rivers and bridges up close; we embraced a rain-and-mud-soaked concert at the old Carrie Blast Furnace; and, somehow, we found ourselves repeatedly in the Oakland neighborhood. We’d people-watch from Schenley Plaza and I’d catch myself marveling that, 99 years after its groundbreaking, the Cathedral of Learning continues to be the most visible and lasting symbol of this pioneering institution. 

We went back to Arizona, unsure when we’d visit Western Pennsylvania again. Seven weeks and one fortuitous job opportunity later: our home was for sale, our belongings and puppies were packed, and a cross-country drive marked the beginning of that next chapter. 

But ultimately, it’s the people — those I work with and you, our valued readers — who make me most proud to be part of this Pitt community. Fitzgerald spoke on this during his May commencement speech to a record 5,000-plus Pitt grads. 

“It is this special place,” he said of Pitt, “the people of this community, the culture that it manifests, the values it cultivates 
in us, and the love it saturates us with that shape my life.”

Sounds like Larry and I are still on the same page.

— Brett Fera, editor-in-chief