Erin Harkes graduated from MCS in 1995.
MIDDLEBURGH - Erin Harkes may have graduated from Middleburgh Central School over 30 years ago, but the tutelage from several of her MCS teachers still resonates.
Ms. Harkes, who graduated from MCS in 1995, is the editor and refounder of the popular Metroland Now magazine in Albany.
"I’m the owner, publisher and editor in chief of Metroland Now. Metroland was founded in 1978 and went out of business in 2015. In October of 2024 I brought it back and have been running it ever since," Ms. Harkes said. It is published monthly.
After graduating from MCS, she went to St. Andrews Presbyterian College in North Carolina.
As with many small publishing businesses, Ms. Harkes is a jack-of-all-trades.
"Within the paper I am also the main advertiser, bookkeeper and distributor. Haha. I do a little bit of everything," she said.
"I have had many other jobs in my life but most recently I was working full time as a musician and comedian. I left my day job at Albany County in 2013. Metroland is also a nonprofit organization which I am the CEO and board president of. It is another industry I am learning about slowly."
Metroland covers the arts, music, and entertainments people and events in Albany and during her years at MCS, Ms. Harkes had several teachers that greatly influenced her in those areas.
"Ms. (Sharon) Beck (music teacher at MCS secondary school) was the most tremendous influence on me. She got the best music out of me and made me want to perform. No one believes that I used to be shy but I was. I had a hard time finding my voice and she inspired me to find it and use it."
Her first year at Middleburgh was sixth grade and "it wasn’t easy being the new kid," she remembered. "I didn’t really fit in and struggled with school work. Mrs. (Linda) Applebaum was the best teacher I could have ever asked for. When no one else saw anything in me, she did. I remember her even telling my parents she wouldn’t be surprised if I wrote a book someday. Someday I will. It’s something I’ve been working on for awhile and I would love to finish that and bring her a copy and thank her for believing in me when it felt like no one else did."
Secondary English teacher Deborah Misenhimer (now Mrs. Herodes) "was very encouraging of my writing and challenged me to turn my poems into songs so I should definitely thank her for that."
Ms. Harkes, who lives just outside of Albany, said she loves working at Metroland.
"I love it. It’s a lot of work and definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I think that’s what makes it the most rewarding. I’m very proud of what we’ve done in the past year and a half. It’s wild to think that two years ago I had zero journalism experience. I just had a crazy idea and a lot of motivation and I pulled it off somehow."
After leaving Middleburgh, she has "been thoroughly immersed in the arts scene in the Capital Region for nearly three decades. I have developed some of the best relationships with press and used the connections I’ve made to help promote my endeavors as a performer.
"Being on the other side of things is great because I have a very unique perspective that some others might not. Most of my team members are other creatives and they just all care so much about promoting our scene so we’re all very motivated and inspired to shine the best light on all the talent we have here. The people I have met since I’ve started this are some of the most incredible and influential people that have treated me like a peer which is an indication that I might be doing things right even though most days I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.
"I’ve gotten to meet some pretty famous people as a performer, but to meet them as an arts journalist is next level because I get to have in depth conversations with them instead of just performing or opening for them.
"I got to go meet Jimmy Fallon last month who was an intern at Metroland back in the '90s. He was so happy to see Metroland was back and so kind and complimentary to me for the work I’ve done.
"These are all incredibly validating moments."
She has accomplished a lot since graduating from MCS, but still has many goals.
"I never want to stop performing completely. Obviously, I’m doing it much less than I used to, but it’s a bit more meaningful now because I’m very selective about when I perform. I just released a new album called 'Blue' that I spent the last year writing and recording.
"I’m incredibly proud of how it came out. It’s on all streaming services but you can listen for free on my website and download from there (where fans pick the price)."
Ms. Harkes family lived in Middleburgh from 1989-1996.
Erin Harkes talks with former Metroland intern Jimmy Fallon.