>> I went to Pomona College.
I graduated in 2006.
I majored in English with a minor in creative writing.
Excuse me, an emphasis in creative writing, and a minor in Spanish.
So I've always wanted to be a writer but I didn't really know how
to pursue writing as a profession.
And senior year a friend of mine convinced me to apply for a job at the college newspaper
and I ended up being the editor for the sports pages for a semester and really enjoyed it.
And frankly it was an ego boost just to get feedback from people who were reading my work
and hearing that, you know, I was making a difference in terms of the--
the quality of the newspaper and just it was exciting to have more
than just your friends reading some essays or short stories you've written.
So the other thing was I took a-- an independent study with David Foster Wallace,
when he was teaching up in Pomona, and he had encouraged me to pursue sports journalism
and that played a role in encouraging me to-- That gave me confidence to at least try it out.