Blog

By Brent Hoffmann, Class of 2005

“The best advice I ever got about leading a tour came from Ralph Johnson,” said docent Constance Rajala. Johnson, designer of the Boeing Building, rode along on one of her river tours in 2016. “I invited him to talk a little, on microphone, about his building when we reached the south branch,” she continued. In DuSable Harbor, where the boat turns by the lake lock, attention shifts from the docent to the scenery. Tourees jump up to take photos. “I’d often wondered about the best things to say at this spot,” said Constance. That’s when Ralph spoke to her, softly off-mike. “Just shut up,” he said. He advised her to stop talking for a moment and let her tourees admire the scenery.

Academia, then Publishing
Constance was raised in Joliet, Illinois. She earned her B.A. in history at Lake Forest College on Chicago’s north shore. She taught European history at the State University of New York at Cortland while working on a postgraduate degree. She then taught Civilization, aka Plato to NATO, at LeMoyne College, Syracuse, while completing her dissertation for a Ph.D, in history from Syracuse University.

Her first job was in publishing. She was an acquisitions editor – specializing in English language and composition – at Harper & Row Publishers in New York City. “Yes, I worked – but at a distance — for Rupert Murdoch, who owned Harper,” said Constance. “In the early 1980s, I was the first person to sign a teaching model deal with Apple Inc.” She created an electronic workbook for college freshmen, designed for Apple’s Macintosh laptops.

During her career, she also worked and lived in Boston and Washington, D.C. In 1991, Constance relocated back to Chicago as the vice president of marketing and operations for a local company. In 1998, she co-founded and became chief executive officer of Sterling Network Integration in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Sterling specializes in consulting on how to leverage technology into business practices. “Informally, I became known as the ‘empress’, she said. “One of the few advantages of being a boss in the technology field is that you can give yourself days off to train to be a docent.”

Although she retired from Sterling in 2012, Constance still consults with the company. She audits the books, handles tax filings, assists in sales, and helps clients set up and direct their information technology systems.

Why a docent?
“My grandmother used to bring me downtown to Chicago nearly every month,” explained Constance. While an undergrad at Lake Forest College, she wrote a term paper about the Auditorium Theatre and Louis Sullivan. In 2008 she became a CAF docent.

Constance is certified to lead Architecture Conversations, Art Deco Skyscrapers: Downtown; Art Deco Skyscrapers: Riverfront Trolley and Walking Tours (assistant tour director); Graceland Cemetery; Graceland: Symbols in Stone (co-tour director); Historic Skyscrapers; Hotel Boom; Louis Sullivan: Lost and Found; River Cruise (co-director) and Private Charters; and River Walk Talk tours.

“In leading tours, I try to rely on my liberal arts education as well as practical experience as an executive who juggles facts and figures,” she said. “I like to make intimate human connections, too.” Her favorite feedback was from a young Chinese woman architect who took her Louis Sullivan: Lost and Found tour. She said, “I have always admired Louis Sullivan, but you made me love him.”

Misinformed
Constance received a docent service award in 2012. She was chairman of Docent Appreciation Night event in 2017. Reviewing her new role as president of the docent council, she quoted Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in the movie Casablanca. When asked what brought Rick to Casablanca, he said, “My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.” Informed that the city is in a desert, Rick replied, “I was misinformed.” Quipped Constance, “I kid people that I became council president expecting to be in parades and cut ribbons but I, too, was misinformed. It’s a lot of work, but I do love it.”

Humane Activity Day
Wednesday is humane activity day for Constance. She lives in Evanston and volunteers at the nearby animal shelter. “I like to think that I’ve saved the lives of 10,000 cats,” she said. At home, she has a dog Esme and two cats, Fern and brother Hubbell (named after Robert Redford’s character in the movie The Way We Were).

“By the way,” she concludes. “I’ve tried to take Ralph Johnson’s advice to heart, to ‘just shut up’ on certain parts of my tour.”