trevordayschool

More than anything, though, a writing career requires resilience and adaptability. You'll be hired, you'll be laid off, you'll go freelance, you might sell out for a while, you'll consider a drastic career change—but you'll always have that itch. So you'll keep dusting yourself off and keep finding new ways in. For Hugo Lindgren, who graduated from The Day School's 8th grade in 1982, writing opened doors into the worlds of architecture, business, film, politics, and television. He worked in publishing for decades, developing passion and expertise across topics and learning how to navigate a frequently turbulent field. Now, Hugo is working with Academy Award winner Mark Boal on a TV series, producing a weekly podcast with political strategist Bradley Tusk, editing books on China, judicial reform, and stock-market panics, and writing one of his own called Let's Start a Band. Here, Hugo discusses his path from the former 92nd Street campus of The Day School to Hollywood and back to Manhattan (and much in between). Trevor: Let's start at the beginning—what stands out from your time at The Day School? Hugo: There are so many things! My siblings also went there; we started in nursery school at the 92nd Street building and lived nearby. It was such a close-knit neighborhood; the sense of community was really strong and The Day School was a big part of that. The thing I remember most from that time was how close the students were, and I realized later how different that was from other schools. It was quite difficult to acclimate to a new high school because there wasn't that The Day School was the relationship between students and teachers; the teachers had such trust in the kids and the kids in the teachers. And there were so many great teachers. Mr. Lindow was this incredible guy who we all really liked. He taught us so much about computers—long before other kids were learning about them. But there were so many, and they treated us with respect. We had independence but also felt looked after. Trevor: Mr. Lindow is still teaching at Trevor! Hugo: Is Mr. Lindow still there, really? Wow! I didn't know that, or I would have gone to see him last time I was up there for one of my girls' basketball games. I hung out with Dan Feigin, who was a couple years below me when I was a student, and he's still the great guy he was back then. Trevor: Oh wow, funny that you knew him back then. When you were a student, did writing and journalism interest you early on, or did that start later? Hugo: I guess it started at The Day School. We published a little newspaper that was basically our staff using a mimeograph machine; we literally wrote our stories by hand and then mimeographed them. The newspaper was what each of us made of it, just like many things at the school were—you could decide to do something and make it happen. You knew the teachers were there Alumni Profile Hugo Lindgren '82 Writer, Editor, and Producer If you're lucky, a writing career is a cloak that lets you pass undetected into myriad other fields, collecting bits of knowledge and expertise before moving on to the next industry or profession. It requires curiosity—deep enough to drive obsessive research and examination—and a nose for recognizing which pieces of information are important, and how each fits into the full story. Hugo Lindgren '82 in his 8th-grade yearbook photo from The Day School. TREVOR DAY SCHOOL / 53 INSIDE TREVOR TREVOR TRANSLATES FEATURE AR TICLES ALUMNI

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