Mar 26, 2007 1:27 pm US/Eastern
Recent Duquesne Grad A Published Author
Written By KDKA Website Intern Kevin Topolski
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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Dave Jakielo's first published book, College on the Rocks, is a collection of his 40 favorite humor columns that he wrote for The Duquesne Duke.
KDKA
Getting a book published is an achievement aspiring writers dream of doing their entire lives; but one recent Duquesne University graduate didn't have to wait that long!
At just 23-years-old, 2005 Duquesne graduate Dave Jakielo has already accomplished this goal with his first published book, "College on the Rocks." It's a compilation of the weekly humor column that he wrote for four years at the student run Duquesne newspaper, The Duquesne Duke.
"I really got into the writing of Dave Barry, who's a famous humor columnist, and I would read his books, which are a collection of his columns… after my Sophomore year I decided, if I keep writing these (columns) every week, all the way until senior year, I could probably get a book out of this."
The 40 columns found in Jakielo's book take on an observational and humorous look at the different college trials and tribulations that he faced throughout his four years at Duquesne—where hilarity often ensued. Jakielo said that although the column was meant to be funny he always tried to add a message to his stories.
"I think my favorites are the ones that I could kind of do a balance, where it would be funny and also get some kind of point across or connect with a lot of people and say, boy, you know, I could really relate to that… that was really funny."
Writing a weekly humor column at a Catholic university, Dave says it was sometimes hard to know where to draw the line. "I can't say enough how I appreciative I am of Duquesne -- that they let me kind of push the envelope a little bit."
Now that Jakielo is out of college, he's still writing and has been able to make the sometimes difficult transition into the real world. "I'm director of development at Bishop Canevin High School…it's a lot different than college. College is a unique lifestyle, where you're going to class but you're partying a lot, you get to meet people."
For aspiring authors, Jakielo says, "The biggest thing would be to get involved in your student newspaper. It might be tough starting out but just stick with it—get involved and write. Always be thinking of stuff to write. I always carried a notepad around with me."
To contact Jakielo or purchase a copy of College on the Rocks, check out Dave's blog,
ReadDave.com or his book's
MySpace page.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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