I guess you could say I’ve come full circle with new beginnings. When my husband, Matt and I moved with our two young children to Torrington in the summer of 2014, it was a new beginning for us all. Matt was starting his career as a Physician’s Assistant with Banner Health. He grew up in Torrington and was already well-known in the community. Our daughter, Ava was just starting kindergarten and son, Asher, preschool. And me? Well, I was the new kid in town and the Torrington Telegram was the first to take a chance on this new kid. My role at the time was in production, laying out pages and while I enjoyed what I was doing, other opportunities came calling. You see, I am by nature an opportunist, and some might even say, quite industrious.
As a child, I was always participating in various activities and athletics, I got my first paying job at the age of ten washing dishes at a restaurant on Friday nights, and I spent my summers helping out on my family’s ranch. Staying involved and active prepared me for, or perhaps was indicative of what was to come. As a student at the University of Wyoming, attending on a meager cheerleading scholarship (and later dance), there were times I was working two to three jobs aside from attending classes, practices and games. All this, while affording myself a healthy social life as any college student does, it’s a wonder I got any sleep. Let’s just call my aptitude as a social butterfly supplementary research for my field of study - communication. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree during a May snowstorm in 2007 quite fittingly summed up the first 20-some years of my life – a whirlwind, or perhaps more apropos - a beautiful disaster.
With a sprinkling of various pursuits over the last few years, including starting my own business, WYO Dance Force, and taking on a leadership role in affiliate marketing with a successful women’s clothing boutique, I’ve had my fair share of new beginnings and am grateful for each experience. With lessons learned along the way, while not always pleasant, each allowed for personal and professional growth.
And now, it’s back to the newsroom. Having spent several years as the news director for a local radio station, I’m no stranger to Goshen County news and I look forward to taking on the role as Editor of the Torrington Telegram. I’ve always had a knack for writing, frequently submitting entries in Young Authors Writing Competitions during my school years. And photography was a first love of mine. I was gifted my first camera as a young child, and I spent an entire summer taking pictures of anything and everything. As a preteen, I carried a polaroid around my neck, always snapping pictures of friends. In high school, I was fortunate enough to take photography lessons from professional photographer, David Huber of Worland, who taught everything from composition to developing and processing negatives. I’ll have you know, I won “Best of Show” at State Fair with my photography entry in 2000, the summer before my senior year of high school. It’s fitting to note that although I’ve just aged myself, I bring up accolades from my childhood as it’s those early pursuits that have molded me. The writing, the photography, the cheerleading and dance background, the communication studies. This path I’m on has been years in the making, perhaps one I’ve been destined for. One I’ve come full circle with.
Settling back in at the Telegram has brought me full circle since my little family stepped into this new beginning nearly eight years ago. Full circle, back to my roots, back to the Telegram with a fresh, new beginning.
