The writer behind the speeches
Few people who decide to become writers expect fame to follow. All that most writers hope for is that the work is good, maybe even important, and that people pay attention to it. Over the last decade, Sarah Hurwitz ’99, J.D. ’04, has managed that and more as a speechwriter for one of the nation’s most gifted orators, Barack Obama, and two of the world’s most commanding and admired women, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. Hurwitz had been a largely under-the-radar figure outside of Washington, D.C., traveling the world crafting keynote addresses, convention speeches, and remarks for campaign rallies, commencements, and other major events — until last summer. That’s when the first lady wowed the Democratic National Convention (DNC). In July, she made the case for Clinton in what many called a historic speech referencing living in the White House (“Today, I wake up every morning in a house that was built by...