Beth Kujawski

Background

About Beth Kujawski

My mom taught me how to print my name when I was 3. I have been writing ever since. I have a deep and abiding love of words. I also have a musical bent. And I believe that those who are inclined toward music also make fine writers. We hear the musicality in language. So, in college, I pursued pre-med. It makes no sense to me now either. I began taking English courses to lighten my heavy science load and one day, I glanced at a poster of Einstein that a friend had bought for me at the Smithsonian."Imagination is more important than knowledge" reads the quote under Einstein's head. And that day, even though I'd read those words easily times before, they seemed to express "English is more important than medicine." And I declared my major. As graduation drew near, folks would inquire about my degree, then ask,"What are you going to do with that?" I'd deadpan:"Park cars." Some would laugh. Most didn't know how to respond. But my life of words has led me down some fascinating paths and introduced me to a cast of fascinating people. In college, I wrote a paper about noted Chicago (yet still too unknown) author Nelson Algren. I ended up on Long Island to visit his grave but not before conducting a couple of interviews. Playwright Joe Pintauro was a lovely host, as was Kurt Vonnegut.(Best cocktail party story ever.) I spent two summers working at the Chicago Sun-Times. I interned at Chicago magazine. And once out of college, I landed a job at the Chicago Tribune in the midst of an awful job market. I thought I would stay there for six months. I left five years later. I've worked for IT consulting companies (if I can write a compelling article about insurance portals—and I did—I can write anything) and now work for Toptal, a logical landing place given my combined experience. When time allows, I help clients with writing, editing, and proofreading projects. I have a background in voiceovers. And I bake.(Clients are pleased when I show up with treats.) For more details about my past roles, please scroll down to Experience.