Her work: Traffic reporter for US101 (WUSY-FM).

Her background: She graduated from the University of Tennessee, earning a communications degree while also working in the news departments of two Knoxville radio stations. “I went into communications because I hate math and science. I love people, and I love performing, even as a child. But I always thought I'd go into public relations until my sophomore year, when I decided on broadcasting.”

Television or radio? “I thought it was going to be TV. I love TV, but it's always 30 seconds, get it done, get it over with. Radio is more laid back. I can be myself, and I think that's initially what made me want to stick with it. Plus, you have more contact with your listeners in radio. People call me and act like they've known me for years, and I like that. That's probably the best thing about it.”

On broadcasting: “People perceive the glamour of it all, but they don't realize what goes on behind the scenes, like the police scanners blaring at me all the time while I'm trying to take notes. It's stressful. There's a lot more to it that people know about. Even going to school, there's a big difference between what you're taught and getting into the real world. You learn the basics, but you learn a lot more, so many little things you didn't realize, once you get into the field.”

Her day: It begins at 5 a.m. with calls to dispatchers for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Chattanooga Police Department, and sheriff's departments in Hamilton, Bradley, and Whitfield Counties . “I keep checking back with them, especially if it's a rainy day, and I get information from callers who phone in about something that's just happened. That helps out a ton.” Her traffic reports are on US101 and Channel 9 between 5:30 and 8:30 a.m., then she's back again from 4 to 6 p.m. “It's a rough schedule. I don't think I'll ever get used to it. I wasn't a morning person, but I've learned to become one.”

On working afternoons with Dex and Al: "They're too easy to play off. Women tell me all the time, ‘Go get them, girl. You've got to take up for us.' But they're good teachers, which is good for me, being the age that I am. Al is always so prepared. He comes in every day with a pile of paper, research he's done about things to talk about on the air. And as for country music, I've never met anybody who knows as much about this format as Dex.”

Dispelling a myth: “Everybody thinks I fly around in a helicopter. I hate to have to tell them that I don't.”

The best piece of advice she ever received: “Be honest, and always be yourself. If I tried to mold into something people wanted me to be, I'd go crazy.”

The book, album, and movie necessary for survival on the proverbial desert island: “ The Five People You Meet in Heaven, anything by Ben Folds (he's a pianist, not played a lot on the radio), and Moulin Rouge.”

Her hometown: Bolling Brook, Ill. “We moved here when I was in third grade. I feel like I've always lived in the South, but my roots are up north.”

What she likes most about Chattanooga: “The atmosphere. It's so beautiful. I love downtown. It's very put-together, and there's so much you can do here. It's a good starting-off place to grow or to stay, if that's what you want to do. You always think about going off to a big city and conquering the world, but I think I'd be okay if I got stuck here. Well, not ‘stuck here,' but I could be happy here in Chattanooga for the rest of my life.”