"She could not explain in so many words, but she felt that those who prepare for all the emergencies of life beforehand may equip themselves at the expense of joy." ~ Howards End, E.M. Forster
"All things are ready, if our minds be so." ~ "Henry V," William Shakespeare
"The mind is its own place, and in it self / Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven." ~ "Paradise Lost," John Milton
As a recent college graduate who thought, at one point, that she had her life all planned out, the above quotes seem to aptly fit the story of my life. I started college bound and determined to become a college English professor, and I was only a communication and theater arts major because I thought getting two degrees out of my expensive private school tuition was a good idea. Four years later, I have found a path which was highly unexpected to me, and combines the skills I learned in both my English and my communication and theater arts majors.
Currently, I work as a news assistant for the Peoria Journal Star, the largest daily newspaper in the Peoria, Ill., area. I spend my days at work doing a wide myriad of things, including editing obituaries as they come in from funeral homes (with deference to the family's wishes when an obituary has been paid for), compiling calendars of daily religious, arts and general activities in the Peoria area, gathering marriage licenses and divorces, collecting dispositions on those who have been convicted of driving under the influence or of felony crimes, collecting real estate transactions and building permits and interpreting the often-difficult-to-read handwriting of health department workers who inspect restaurants. Basically, my job is to keep the public informed about the general goings-on in the area, so all they have to do is open up the newspaper and they have a wealth of information.
Even when newswriting fell into my lap as a real career possibility my junior year (I simply needed an extra credit), I never imagined myself doing what I am now doing. And, beginning in mid-August 2007, I will be a reporting intern with the Journal Star, so I will be getting back into my real journalistic interests.
In college, I was very involved in many different activities, mostly in the realm of performing arts and honor societies. Feel free to look at my resume for a portion of those experiences. To discover what I was able to make of my Monmouth College education, look at my objectives page. It gives some samples of work completed in my four years, along with reflections on what I learned while completing the assignments. My independent study page describes the culminating project of my communication and theater arts degree: Editing and directing a one-hour version of William Shakespeare's "Othello" with four of my peers as cast members. You will also find a few of my personal goals on the goals page. Finally, visit my study abroad page to learn about my experience as a visiting student at New College of Oxford University in the fall of 2005.
The files available for download on my site are pretty common file-types. However, not all computers are loaded with the correct software to view them. The links below are to free, light-weight utilities allowing you to view the files I have to offer.
Word 2003 Viewer - view and print MS Word documents without having Word installed.
PowerPoint 2003 Viewer - show MS Power Point slideshows without having Power Point installed.
Foxit Reader - A free and lightweight PDF viewer. A good alternative to Adobe Reader.