Biosketch

I am a single mother with a 12-year-old middle school boy, living in Indianapolis, Indiana where the best holiday revolves around the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and the #18 is a holy number.

I am 100% Hoosier. I was born and raised in Indy. I even went to college here. I lived outside of the city for 6 years at the beginning of my marriage for a horrible experiment in rural Indiana. We moved back to the hometown right before 9/11 and have stayed here ever since.

I was always involved in the performing arts as a kid and lived for the theatre and showchoir in high school. When it came time for college, my parents half-heartedly supported my quest for fame and fortune but strongly encouraged me to come up with a 2^nd major as a backup plan. That’s when I chose Radio/TV. Teachers always said go with your strengths and I figured my greatest strength besides singing was talking. I specialized in Production because it fit nicely with my Music degree and I figured I could still get them both done in 4 years. Once I took my first media class my sophomore year, I was hooked. I eventually dropped my Music major to a minor and never looked back. My passion started out in video production, but eventually I narrowed in on anything radio. I felt like radio was more diverse and allowed me to be more than just a reporter, just a producer or just a videographer. One of my professors persuaded me to lean toward radio news, despite my interest in copywriting and production. I used to dream of combining my talents of music and copywriting to be the next commercial jingle sensation, 2^nd only to Barry Manilow. But, somehow his suggestion stuck with me and has been the focal point of my employment existence since my senior year.

After graduation, I thought I’d cut my teeth in a small rural market for a year or two, then make my way to the big city. 12 years later, I finally got that job of a lifetime (or so I thought) at the flagship news/talk station in our state’s capital. I was just in time for mass layoffs, format changes, and hostile management takeovers.  After 3 and a half years, I decided I needed options. The radio industry is changing rapidly and no one is really sure what direction it is taking. I determined that a Master’s degree in Interactive Communications was the best ticket for giving myself the options I desire in a changing world while helping me decide what I want to be when I grow up. Plus, after a 13-year marriage-gone-wrong-before-it-began, I wanted something that was all mine with no parental, spousal, or mentor influence.

I’m an avid volunteer and have remained active in my alma mater. I spend a lot of time mentoring college and high school kids. I come from a long line of teachers so it’s no surprise that my second love is education. One of the options that this QU degree will give me is the option to teach in higher education.

I still enjoy music, although I don’t write nearly as much as I once did. I coach children in voice for music auditions and watch A LOT of football. That is my son’s passion so it has become mine as well. And considering he stands 5’9” and 172 lbs. at 12 years of age and hasn’t hit that big growth spurt yet, he just might become that pro-athlete that could make his mother comfortable.