I've been a journalist for roughly 20 years, having earned multiple statewide and local writing awards (California, Los Angeles and West Virginia) for news coverage spanning the arts, municipal government and enterprise reporting. That same coverage also saved a bag of kittens and sprung a wrongly arrested teen-ager from the clutches of L.A. County Jail. I started out at a small newspaper in Morgantown, West Virginia, where I graduated from West Virginia University with a bachelor's of science in journalism. I moved to California a couple of years later because, come on, it's California. Over two decades in Los Angeles, I worked at a variety of local newspapers. From there, life got wacky: Grandma came to live with me and I put my professional life on hold to take care of her. Coolest lady ever, and I miss her every day. Eventually I earned a Master's of Professional Writing from USC and taught on the side. I realized I liked teaching writing almost as much as writing, itself. From there, AOL-Patch hired me to be an editor. And after three years writing and shooting for its digital platform, I returned to where it all began: Print. Well, print plus: The Los Angeles Downtown News also has a website.Reporting on breaking news and telling people's stories provides the same exhilarating rush as standing in front of the classroom, watching hands go up and lightbulbs blink on. I feel fortunate to have found two professions about which I am equally passionate. Currently I am freelancing for The Miami Herald and teaching Writing Strategies in the School of Communication, Architecture + The Arts at Florida International University in North Miami.