biography It would be simple to sum up my life in a few sentences. I was raised by Dutch parents in Overland Park, Kansas, just outside of Kansas City. I'm the youngest of three children. I've worked on publications in multiple capacities since the beginning of high school, and I want to be a designer and later an art director for a newspaper or magazine. It'd be easy to say that's all there is to it, but as always, it's more complicated than that. As the daughter of European parents, I have a more global view of the world and a penchant for travel, but as a midwesterner, I also have midwestern and American values. I believe hard work will get you everywhere. Since I am the youngest in my family by more than six years, I have always been independent and a self-starter. Throw in two overachieving, older siblings, and you might understand why I feel like I've done everything. Growing up, I sang in the city choir, played in the orchestra, participated in global competitions for gifted children, competed in math competitions, led the yearbook staff as editor-in-chief, wrote for and edited my high school's literary magazine, took honors classes, kept up a high GPA and volunteered for a domestic violence shelter. While my work at the shelter almost led me down a career path in social work, I couldn't shake the feeling of comfort I felt behind a computer creating something practical, creative and interesting for a publication or just for fun, so I applied at the University of Missouri's journalism school and was accepted. Throughout my freshman and sophomore years, I worked at The Maneater, the student newspaper, as a reporter, page designer, graphic designer, assistant production manager and production manager. I loved every aspect of the design and layout process and got experience in every area using primarily Adobe InDesign and Illustrator. During school, I have also fulfilled my dreams of traveling abroad. I spent a summer at Macquarie University in Sydney, and this past spring I studied at Imperial College in London while interning as a designer at a business magazine called Retail Week. I am now interning at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and making plans to take a year off after my May 2010 graduation to volunteer in Africa before returning to the states to apply for design positions and be closer to my family. home resume portfolio biography contact