As an inexperienced, eager junior walking into Westminster Christian Academy’s newspaper room, Abigail Becker, class of 2011, never imagined she would be opening the door to a lifelong passion.

“I was never one of those kids who can say they’ve always known what they want to be when they grow up. But I have always known that I enjoy writing and talking to people, which fits in very well with the field of journalism,” said Becker.

Becker believes that her time as a writer and eventually an editor on The Wildcat Roar was an incredibly positive experience that not only helped her grow as a writer, but also as a person. It gave her the chance to pursue her personal interests, taught her the fundamentals of journalism, and helped her mature as an independent student.

“I loved my time working at The Wildcat Roar. Mr. Vonder Bruegge fostered a very productive work environment. The casual, low-key environment really taught me to be proactive and independent in my work. In college, time isn’t blocked out like during high school, so you have the appearance of a lot of free time,” said Becker.

When considering where to attend college and what exactly to pursue after graduation, Becker took the time to consider all her options. She had personal dreams, and was not afraid to chase after what she truly wanted, even if it meant diving head first into uncharted territory.

“I loved the idea of attending a large university away from home in a place where I wouldn’t know anyone. I think the idea of branching out and creating a life of your own outside of the familiar confines of family, high school friends and hometown is a really beneficial experience. It teaches you to be independent,” said Becker.

This fearless determination and personal independence stuck with her as she made her decision and committed to University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Big Ten state school more than five hours away from her hometown of Saint Louis, Missouri.

“UW-Madison perfectly fits my personality. It provides the big college experience while offering small classes and a multitude of student organizations to get involved in,” said Becker.

Regardless of the distance, Becker found herself returning to roots that had been planted inside of her during her high school career. Before she knew it, she was taking an interest in The Daily Cardinal, an independent and entirely student run newspaper on the campus of UW-Wisconsin. The staff, the stories and the vision of the paper appealed to the inquisitive writer inside of her.

“The Daily Cardinal provides an environment that welcomes anyone. No one is paid at the paper, and n one spends between 40 and 50 hours a week on something they don’t love. At the paper, staff members can choose their level of involvement. Staff writers and photographers can choose how often they work for the paper, which can vary from covering one event a week, being a beat writer or writing every day. From my experience, once someone gets involved it’s hard to stay away,” said Becker.

This was exactly the case with Becker. Her involvement started off minimal but quickly increased. Writing for The Daily Cardinal started to become an important part of her life, and also an activity she enjoyed tremendously. It didn’t take long for her talent and dedication to the paper to become evident to her peers on staff.

“I began writing for The Daily Cardinal for the campus and college news desks. I was an ASM (Associated Students of Madison, student council) beat writer and covered various campus news events. Toward the end of my first semester freshmen year, I was approached by the News Managing Editor, City News Editor and Campus News Writer to be the City News Editor. I willingly accepted even though I had never written a city article before but the City News Editor at the time trained me and taught me all she knew,” said Becker.

Becoming a writer for The Daily Cardinal and eventually an Editor allowed Becker to investigate and write about different topics and events that interested her. A few of the standouts were the city’s controversial operating and capital budget approval process, Occupy Madison and the school’s infamous, end of the year Mifflin Street Block Party. These experiences were not only interesting, but also very beneficial to her growth as a reporter and writer.

After working so hands on in the UW-Madison community and with The Daily Cardinal, Becker had realized her passion and was ready to make even bigger commitments to the paper.

“After my term as City News Editor, I took on the task of creating the Social Media Manager position, which includes being responsible for maintaining The Daily Cardinal’s presence on Twitter and Facebook in addition to creating online content to enhance news articles.  When the current Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor announced it was time to start training new candidates, I put my name in,” said Becker.

Her hard work and obvious love for her school and the paper earned her the title of Editor-in-Chief. Her plans and vision for The Daily Cardinal are big and continuing to expand. They include, “interweaving all aspects of The Daily Cardinal Media Corporation to create a cohesive print paper, website and social media presence.”

Becker’s plans for her future are just as ambitious, and she is just as dedicated to making them a reality. She plans to continue to pursue journalism, hoping to one day be a reporter for a daily newspaper. She’s not exactly sure where she will be but she is positive that her experiences at WCA and with The Daily  Cardinal will be instrumental in her success.