About Me

When I arrived at Loyola University Chicago two and a half years ago I had to declare what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Scary, huh? When I was younger my parents put a limit on the number of questions I could ask each day. Really, I drove them crazy because I was wanted to know why this, why that, but how come? Also, when I left Muncie, Indiana to head to college my closet was filled with old journals where I'd recorded every important detail of my entire life. So it wasn't hard to put my knack for asking questions and my love of writing together to figure out that I wanted to major in journalism. After I was awarded a position in the Ricci Scholars Program to study in Rome and Beijing, I declared an international studies major too.
During my junior year, I have been living in Rome for the Fall semester. I will be studying in Beijing next semester. While abroad, I am doing an intercultural research project about current trends and issues in Chinese and Italian journalism. This project will culminate in a series of articles, which will be printed in a full, in-house Loyola newspaper. I am also looking for other outlets to publish my work. So that's what I will be doing until Summer 2008.
Last summer, I interned at the Chicago Tribune for Lou Carlozo, the On the Town editor and DVD columnist. I didn't think my brain could absorb so much in one summer, but it did...I think. i shadowed Lou on interviews, worked on getting his textbook published, freelanced on a number of projects including a musical anthology for Salem Press, and experienced about the way things really work at a major newspaper. I did all that while waiting tables to pay the rent.
When I was at Loyola, I was news editor of the Loyola Phoenix, the official student newspaper of Loyola University Chicago. I was an active member of Loyola's chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. I sat on the University Policy Committee for Student Affairs. I also gave tours of campus as a student ambassador. Sometimes I try to say that in one breath, it's kind of fun.