Dear [insert name here],

By the age of 10, I became an expert at lying motionless in bed at night, feigning sleep when I heard a noise outside my door. The moment that slice of hallway light vanished, I whipped back the covers and strained to continue reading my book in whatever moonlight was available. When I was caught, I would be reprimanded and told to go to sleep. Despite being “in trouble,” I would tempt fate once more to read until I got to a good stopping point.

I take this as a good sign. The great writers read a lot as children, and Thomas Jefferson read a book every day. My love of reading directly affected my love of writing, and my answer to the what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up question remained constant: a writer. As a young teen, I wrote articles for Radar, a two-page spread written by students in The Fort Pierce Tribune.

Growing up, I wrote song lyrics and short stories – some discovered by my older brother to my utmost embarrassment. English classes were always my favorite, even English AP. With the influence of amazing teachers in both high school and college, I expanded my writing ability and taste in books from Stephen King-like horror to must-read classics like “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Catcher in the Rye” to real journalism like the works of Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe and Rick Bragg. It was only after I spent last summer helping to rehabilitate my 90-year-old grandmother and hero that I realized I wanted to use my abilities to make a difference in the world through the news.

I decided to make the most of my senior year at UF. I registered for the maximum amount of credits possible to graduate and get a job. I accepted executive positions in both Society of Professional Journalists and Ad Society. I took a design class to learn Adobe InDesign and Photoshop and a photojournalism class to be able to take my own pictures. I began “story of my life,” a college senior’s daily blog about journalism, news and personal life nearing graduation (lkblandford.wordpress.com). I even bought my own Web site, and I’m teaching myself HTML and CSS to build it.

Journalism is my passion. I’m trained with the skills necessary for a budding backpack journalist: writing, investigating, research, interviewing, editing, ethics, photography and multimedia. I’m fresh, eager and willing to work. I’m ready to change the world, one article at a time.

I’m available to interview beginning the week of Monday, May 12. I look forward to meeting you, and I appreciate your time and consideration. Please contact me if you have any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Laurie K. Blandford