There’s no work I love more than  crafting a consistent, compelling message out of the raw materials of an organization’s story and strengths. After only a quick introduction to WSU’s abiding distinctives, I immersed myself in WSU’s self-understanding and pitched the idea that we communicate WSU’s selling points within four memorable themes: “friended”, to highlight the unique residential experience and lifelong friendships begun in Pullman; “learned”, to refer to WSU’s educational offerings; “spirited”, to evoke the enthusiastic devotion Cougs demonstrate as students and alumni; and “respected”, to denote WSU graduates’ competence and preparedness for the workforce. There was some question whether “friended” had currency beyond the confines of Facebook. “Learned” is also uncommon. I argued that the words had just the right degree of unusualness to merit a second thought. These themes shaped WSU recruitment for several years.