Richard Fohrenbach and his wife, Linda, were both on the Spectrum board 40 years ago, back when the paper was called The Obelisk.
The Fohrenbachs worked on The Spectrum board together in 1983, while he was the chief editor at the time.
“I was the editor and Linda would help me put the paper together, even though she was actually a computer science student at Sacred Heart,” said Fohrenbach. “She would come with me to help print the papers down at Trumbull Printing.”
The two would go bring the papers to Trumbull Printing, get the papers published, and then bring them back to distribute them around campus.
Fohrenbach was on the board for about two and a half years.
“Well, I would say I was on the board about two and a half years. It was basically the whole time I was a student at Sacred Heart because I came back to college after the Navy. The previous chief editor, whose name was Bob McGannet, invited me to be on the board,” said Fohrenbach. “I didn’t go to Sacred Heart the whole four years straight because I had credits from another university.”
Although his bachelor’s degree is in media studies, he never actually pursued his interest in journalism when it came to post-graduation.
“Bob McGannet, the previous chief editor of the paper, was a manager at a computer library automation project in Bridgeport and had given both me and Linda job opportunities,” said Fohrenbach.
“So, I didn’t pursue journalism post-grad because we started in the computer industry, and after I left Sacred Heart and had worked that same job for about a year after, I got my first corporate job at Dun & Bradstreet in Milton. Since the computer revolution was really happening in the 80s and 90s, I stayed in the industry. To this day I still work in data and IT,” he said.
Source: Contributed by Richard Fohrenbach, Former Chief Editor of The Spectrum Newspaper
After 40 years and a few moves around the country, Fohrenbach still reads The Spectrum to this day.
Although the couple has been living in the D.C. area since 2018, Fohrenbach said that throughout their entire time living in Connecticut, which was up until 2011, they would regularly read and pick up the paper as he was still involved on Sacred Heart’s campus while being on the board of regions.
“Yes, I do read it and I still do plan to read it. I like it and I compliment it,” he said.
Fohrenbach is a follower of the Spectrum Instagram account and often reads the articles that are posted on the Spectrum website.
Kayla Goncalves, a senior at Sacred Heart, is a part of several clubs and organizations on campus. Throughout her time at Sacred Heart, she has built many strong relationships with the people of those clubs.
“It was nice to hear about Richard and Linda’s story because it helped me believe that I’ll be able to keep my relationships that I’ve made here at school last even after graduation,” said Goncalves.
Fohrenbach said that working for the newspaper impacted him and his career throughout the past 40 years.
“So, I did not pursue journalism, but I have written at every single job I’ve had,” said Fohrenbach. “That newspaper experience at Sacred Heart gave me that type of curiosity and passion to never be afraid to ask questions and always learn what you can.”
