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Kelsey Dayton, BJ '05

What do you do in your job?
I cover health, which includes the hospital, state health care, and health and fitness, as well as city government and Living, which is our lifestyles section.

What do you enjoy about your job?
I love that I am paid to write. I love that each day I am let into the lives of other people, especially when writing features. I love that my articles start conversations in the community and teach people about issues that impact them.

What drew you to Wyoming?
I wanted to start my career specifically as a health reporter. And I wanted to be out West. I am originally from Montana and wanted to be able to see my family on holidays and be in the mountains on the weekend.

How did you get started in your career?
I fell in love with journalism when I took Journalism I in high school. After my senior year of high school, I was burnt out on reporting and came to Mizzou to major in News-Ed, but with the intent to go into public relations. As much as the Missourian was the bane of my existence, taking reporting also reminded me how much I loved writing and working for a newspaper. I couldn't give it up.

What do you think is the one characteristic or trait that the most successful people in your area have?
Confidence. Especially as a young reporter, it is vital when you are interviewing people who are in positions of power, have double your life experience and are talking to you about their area of expertise.

What has been your greatest professional challenge?
Taking the city government beat and trying to make it interesting and understandable. It was a challenge just to learn the language in order to sift through documents, but even more challenging was then finding a way to deliver the news in a readable manner.

What is your latest read and would you recommend it?
I am currently reading "The Time Traveler's Wife," and yes, I would recommend it.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I wanted to be an author.

What has been your toughest learning experience?
The first batch of angry e-mails and phone calls I got on a story that I didn't think was controversial, was hard. Even if an article is accurate, if people don't like it, it is not uncommon for them to personally attack you. What I learned from it was that people truly care about the small things in their community. And that people out there are actually reading and taking seriously what I write. Both are good things.

Who are your heroes?
My grandfather and my mom and dad are my heroes. All taught me that no matter what job you are doing, you should always put everything of yourself into it and do the best that you can.