I first fell in love with writing in kindergarten when my poem “My Perfect Day” won a Beanie Baby and a trip to the zoo. The love affair continued through my time at USC, where I majored in Creative Writing and continued on to a progressive master’s degree in Literary Editing and Publishing.
My time at USC has been anything but conventional. As a freshman, I was diagnosed with both Hodgkin’s and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Through countless cycles of chemo, radiation, and two stem cell transplants I always focused on returning to USC—and the English department. My professors and peers in this department were an invaluable support system through those tumultuous times, not just in their compassion, understanding, and friendship, but in their encouragement to write through and about the experience. To say that I couldn’t have done it without them is not an exaggeration. It means more than words can say (even for someone who now has two degrees in words) to be recognized by the professors who mean so much to me. I am so grateful to get to call so many of you role models, mentors, and friends.
