My time at Columbia has been blessed with wonderful people, none of whom I have ever properly thanked. While this isn’t a proper thank you and unfortunately comes off like a long-winded Academy Awards acceptance speech, it is sincerely heartfelt.

Faculty members throughout the school have consistently gone above and beyond to help and befriend me.  I wanted to thank Jo Cates for adopting me, befriending me and being the classiest lady I know; Paul D’Amato for making this whole college thing worthwhile and for his prolific use of analogies; Matt Siber for helping me through the most sleepless semester of my life; Tom Nowak, for keeping them separated and letting me do a ridiculous final project; Rachel Herman for being an incredible photographer, friend and life coach; Alison Carey for being excited about my work, even when I was skeptical and for answering each and every one of the random questions I’ve ever had; Alice Hargrave for your support; Natasha Egan for the best critiques I’ve ever had and for agreeing to be my mentor all summer long; Karen Irvine for making every class interesting and for your honest, excellent feedback; Elizabeth Ernst for getting me through the food workshop and forgiving me after I freaked out a little bit; Aaron Owens for not killing me after I almost lost that cord and for nerding out with me; Bob Thall for giving me some confidence and some work when I really needed both; Ian Whitmore for being a really cool dude and Jennifer Keats for saving my life weekly.

The Chronicle has employed me, provided me with a bunch of over achieving journalist friends who I admire and also with countless opportunities.

I wanted to thank the entire staff, including our fearless ex-military Editor-in-Chief Bethany Reinhart for putting up with an entire staff of wise guys; Managing Editor Jazzy Davenport for being my Chronicle wife; Jim Sulski for always saying exactly what I needed to hear; and Chris Richert, for putting up with me, giving me more chances than anyone deserves and for      the iPod.