My Background

Self portrait, 2007

I was born and raised in Central Florida. My mom is a swimming instructor from Ohio, and my dad's a sports writer from Cherokee, North Carolina. My step-father sells cars, and once was a commercial pilot; he is from Indianapolis. All of my parents' backgrounds have combined to make me well-rounded and well-traveled. I've seen visited more than 13 states and Australia, New Zealand, England, Rome, St. Maarten and the Bahamas.

In high school, I was involved with the debate group Junior Statesmen of America and my high school drama club. I took photography classes for three years and held two steady jobs, one in retail and the other in food service. I follow politics and the government, and am highly interested in modern entertainment, especially music and movies. My jobs introduced me to people from all walks of life, which compels me to study the relationships between class, race, and education-- the factors that often shape our life stories.

Since beginning college, I have considered many majors: sociology, political science, English and public relations. Ultimately, my combined love of print media and a positive experience in my "Introduction to Reporting" class lead me to change my major to journalism, which allows me to combine all of my interests with my inherent curiosity and love of writing.

In the summer of 2006, I interned on Capitol Hill for Congressman John Mica, who represents Florida's District 7. This summer, I worked for an Orlando public relations firm, Bitner Hennessy Public Relations. There I helped plan a restaurant opening and wrote many monthly communications letters. I look forward to an internship with "The Gainesville Sun" in the spring of 2010 and am curious to see where my interests lead me from there.