Claremont COURIER/FocusWomen 2015

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and Germany growing up as well as on various military bases across the United States. She attended St.
Marys College, majoring in French, and after graduating began teaching French at a Catholic girls high
school.
Ms. ONeils husband Rob earned a journalism degree
from Syracuse University and began teaching journalism, first at Valley College and then at Harbor College.
In 1987, he came to LA Pierce College, where he still
teaches. Ms. ONeil had begun teaching at the community college level as well, starting as an English instructor at Glendale College. She decided to take Mr. ONeils
newswriting class and later worked on the staff of The
Harbor Tide.
We always joke that she slept with her teacher, but
we were already married, Mr. ONeil said.
She was hired by Citrus and in the spring of 1990, she
took over advising the Clarion. In 1998, she was named
Community College Journalism Professor of the Year by
the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
Tim Lynch was the newspapers previous adviser, juggling his guidance with a job at the LA Times. Now associate vice president of communications and public
affairs at Cal State University Stanislaus, Mr. Lynch calls
Ms. ONeil a great keeper of the flame.
There are so many students in this program who Meg
has mentored and mothered, and who have gone onto careers in communication, he said. Shes been that confidante or role model and a fan. But she is someone who
can speak with candor about students, too. Shell call
them out, which is important.
Chris Urso, a staff photographer with the Tampa Tribune, vividly recalls being called out. He came to Ms.
ONeils classes and the Clarion staff as a young man
with a baby daughter and plenty of personal stress, and
almost lost his focus. At one point, Meg told me,
Youre never going to make it in photojournalism.
It was the kick in the pants he needed. Today, Mr. Urso
uses techniques and concepts he learned at Citrus every
day. One thing Meg always told me is photojournalism
is about people doing things, he said.
Stacie Galang, a senior editor at the Ventura Star, says
Ms. ONeils strictness is an invaluable precursor to a
tough industry.

COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff

Meg ONeil lectures about the Associated Press Stylebook on Monday during a COMM 101 class at Citrus College. For most of the students, this was their first introduction to the standards of journalism style.

I tell people that this business isnt for wimps,

whether its the pay, the work or the hours we put in,
she said. It aint easy, but its interesting.
Ms. ONeil is anything but a wimp. A perfectionist or
a workaholic, depending on how you look at it, she commutes to Glendora from her home in La CanadaFlintridge six days a week, heading out as soon as The
Daily News, New York Times and Los Angeles Times are
dropped on her driveway. She is one of the first people to
arrive on campus and among the last to leave.
Once in her office, she pores through the papers, which
she uses to inform students about current events and
news coverage norms, trends and conundrums. She totes
a cart, laden with assignments and newspapers, around
campus and regularly provides snacks for starving stu-

dents who spend long hours in her newsroom.

Citrus College is the number-one destination among
Claremont High School graduates, so students on Claremont High Schools Wolfpack newspaper may well find
themselves working on the Clarion. Though she is stepping back her hours a bit, if they are lucky, they will have
Ms. ONeil as a journalism teacher.
Along with an associates degree in journalism, Citrus students can now obtain an Associate Degree for
Transfer (ADT) in journalism. Earning an ADT ensures
that students will be admitted to a Cal State University
with junior status and be given priority admission to the
local CSU, which is Cal Poly Pomona. Motivated students can also leave Citrus armed with clips and awards,
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