Dispatches from Rome With Allegheny Graduate Carol Glatz
Carol Glatz ‘88 grew up traveling often, and her mother was a language teacher. The double major in political science and philosophy says, “I was already bitten by the travel bug, and I loved languages and other cultures starting at a very young age. Allegheny’s political science department took majors on a bus trip to D.C. to meet alumni and attend a big jobs fair that also showcased opportunities for doing volunteer projects abroad. I established a lot of friends, connections, and insight that would all help me eventually move to Europe and find employment.”
Glatz has been a senior correspondent at the Rome bureau of Catholic News Service since 2004. The bureau is part of the communications department of the D.C.-based U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Glatz covers everything about the Vatican, the pope, and other events or features connected with the Catholic Church and its initiatives or members (religious sisters, charity, exhibition). Prior to her current role, she worked at Vatican Radio’s English-language news desk.
Glatz says, “Since the Vatican is its own ‘country,’ it provides for a huge variety of stories that involve: art, music, archeology, finance banking, legal-jurisdictional issues, theology, social justice, ecology, politics, history, science, astronomy … literally everything. What I love most is I’m always discovering and learning something new, and it allows for travel and on-the-ground reporting. There is a small ‘world’ of reporters and journalists in Rome who come from all over the world to cover the Vatican.”
Glatz notes her time at Vatican Radio was equally as exciting, since that service provided coverage in 40 different languages. With colleagues from dozens of countries, she says, “It was like a mini-UN.”
Her first job after graduating from Allegheny was in environmental legislation for New York State. She took an environmental science class her senior year and fell in love with the subject, as it combined policy and science. She pursued that career for a number of years before she made the switch to journalism.
Glatz says, “Allegheny really prepares you for graduate school — the emphasis on writing, research, accurate citation, and analytical thinking was instrumental! Now I have an M.S. in Media Management from The New School. So much of what I do is what I had to do in a number of courses: read a document or book and explain clearly and concisely what it means, what’s the context, what is it responding to, and its impact.”
During her Allegheny years, Glatz worked in newscasting, as a DJ for WARC radio, and spent a year as a sports editor and writer at The Campus. She attributes those experiences to providing much of the skills she uses today.
From yet another perspective, Glatz credits her Allegheny art history course with giving her enough insight and literacy to be able to work at the Vatican. She says, “I can look at Michelangelo or Raphael and write about masterpieces in the Vatican Museums!”
“Allegheny fostered a lifestyle of being involved with as many different subjects and activities as you wanted, so I still love trying to have an ‘eclectic’ mix of activities and interests. My life as an athlete at Allegheny was also incredibly important. It provided leadership skills, built tremendous confidence and humility, and you learned to balance discipline and fun. It showed the beauty of a camaraderie that comes from experiencing things together, having shared goals, and surviving many challenges.”