An ode to Dick Robinson

I grew up at Scholastic. Literally. It was my first “big” job, a couple of years out of college. I had gone the teaching route but my love was in writing. I wanted to work at one of the glossy magazines of the time. I had interned for many magazines that no longer exist. Shade & Wigwag, to name a few. I even worked at Sports Illustrated for a stint, a job I loved, but I topic I could barely tolerate. So, when I got a job at Scholastic, it seemed perfect. Education and writing: my two favorite things. I started in the magazine division. 

There I met wonderful mentors who took me under their wing. Patrick Daley (RIP) and Akimi Gibson were among the two who most supported me and helped shape my career. Our friendship expanded outside of the walls of the office at 555 Broadway and they became my most trusted allies. But another supporter was Dick Robinson. He recently died at 84. For the over 20 years I have worked at Scholastic--on and off Dick Robsinson was always a champion for me. 

I remember once, early on in my career there, we got in the elevator together. I said hello. He responded, “Hi Tonya! How’s it going?” (I can hear his voice in my head as I write this now). I was shocked that he knew who I was. I mean, I knew him, he was the CEO! But I was an assistant editor on a classroom magazine. How the heck did he know me?

And that’s how it was. In meetings we would chat and he always kind of knew what I was doing. Even when I left Scholastic he still seemed to keep tabs. “How’s the Ph.D program going?” He’d say, when I came to an event. I was always really surprised that he saw me. 

One of the most valuable things I learned at Scholastic was the power of relationships. I met so many wonderful people there and I would say a good 50% of my friend base is related to my Scholastic work. Recently a friend I worked with at Scholastic in the 90s! (!) happened to be in Florence, Italy the same time I was and we met in a piazza for wine and pizza. It was wonderful. The company is nothing if not an incubator for curious writers, who care about kids and want to do their best in the world.

But at the core of this was Dick Robinson. A man who was always committed to giving the best to children. A man who always knew everyone’s name. A man who made a billion dollar company feel like a mom and pop shop. He built an empire. He built a community andI feel lucky to have been part of it. Read more about Dick Robinson here.