Name: Kendra Williamson
Major: English Language
Hometown and State: Neenah, Wisconsin
Favorite Part of Editing: Working with authors and teaching them skills they can apply in all their writing endeavors.
Favorite Location: It will be Antarctica, I’m sure of it. That trip will help me cross off three items from my “101 Things to do in My Life” list!
Favorite Vacation Story: When I was little, every summer my dad would take us kids camping. (Camping wasn’t really my mom’s thing.) I remember spending hours in the woods with my brother, collecting tree frogs and salamanders to take home. My mom always loooooved that.
Favorite Quote: “Yes, I’m a natural blue.” —Dory in Finding Nemo
Name: Shannon Kelly
Major: Humanities
Hometown and State: Bountiful, Utah
Favorite Vacation Story: I was studying abroad in London when I got my first glimpse of the River Thames. My breath flew out of my lungs when I saw the river, silhouetted against the sunset with streaks of pink, gold, and orange coloring its waters. It was pretty much perfect.
I never leave home without: A book. Seriously.
Favorite Quote: “Let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I have never: Skied or snowboarded. I know—I’m an embarrassment to my home state. I’ll mend my ways someday.
Name: Kaitlyn Sullivan Hedges
Major: English
Hometown and State: Thousand Oaks, California
Favorite Book: The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
One Vacation Necessity: Someone to share the adventures with
Favorite Vacation Story: When my husband and I tried to go to Zion National Park, but ended up driving an hour in the wrong direction. It was a fun car ride!
I never leave home without: A good book, just in case I have a minute to spare.
Name: Katie Pitts
Major: Humanities
Hometown and State: Pleasant Grove, Utah
Favorite Book: Quotidiana by Patrick Madden
Favorite Location: Cornwall, England
One Vacation Necessity: Chacos
Favorite Quote: “Today is the tomorrow I worried about yesterday, and all is well.” –John T. Tindsley
Name: Caroline Ure
Major: Sociology
Hometown and State: Cupertino, California
Career Goals: To help people communicate effectively.
Favorite Part of Editing: The power associated with wielding a red pen.
Favorite Quote: “Dante said that the hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who in times of crisis remain neutral, so I have spoken my piece, and thank you dear reader. It’s a beautiful world, rain or shine, and there is more to life than winning.” —Garrison Kiellor
I have never: Been to Boston in the fall
Name: Christina Faria
Major: English
Hometown and State: Mt. Airy, Maryland
Favorite Part of Editing: Finding hilarious typos
Favorite Location: Outer Banks, North Carolina
One Vacation Necessity: Lots of sunshine
Favorite Quote: “No worries.” –Timone and Pumbaa
Name: Jessica Biggs
Major: Political Science
Hometown and State: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Favorite Part of Editing: Finding the exact answer I need in Chicago in under a minute
Favorite Vacation Story: I spent two weeks living off of demi baguette sandwiches and marzipan in France. I would go back tomorrow if I could.
Favorite Quote: “The true meaning of being alive is not just to feel happy, but to experience the full range of human emotions.” –Edward Deci
Dream Travel Location: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, of course!
Name: Haley Miller
Major: English
Hometown and State: Portland, Oregon
One Vacation Necessity: Q-tips. I absolutely, positively, cannot go a single day without swabbing my ears.
Favorite Vacation Story: Hiking with friends in the hills of Southern California and then reading Steinbeck aloud while sunning on warm rocks. It’s the little things.
I never leave home without: Putting on clothes first.
Favorite Quote: “The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.” —Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Name: Claire Warnick
Major: Humanities
Hometown and State: Orem, Utah
Favorite Book: Classic murder mysteries—my favorite kind of “brain candy.”
Favorite Vacation Story: I was at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam eating dinner with some friends. As we got up to leave, the waiter came over and asked me if I wanted the receipt from our bill. Since we had all paid in cash, I casually replied, “No, thanks.” He asked, “Are you sure?” Confused, I looked at the receipt again and said, “Yeah.” He flipped it over and handed it to me; on the back he had written a note to all of us wishing us well on our travels.
Favorite Quote: “What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn’t come every day.” —George Bernard Shaw
I have never: Stayed in a hostel
Name: Teresa Arroyo
Major: English/ Spanish
Hometown and State: Sandy, Utah
Favorite Part of Editing: I love getting to work with so many different authors and reading about so many different topics.
One Vacation Necessity: Don’t leave without your best friend!
Favorite Vacation Story: My mom met me in London after my study abroad there had ended. We were there during the Trouping of the Colours, which meant we saw the whole royal family, including the Queen herself! How many daughters can say they took their mothers to see the Queen of England?
Favorite Quote: “Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’.”
— Yoda (The Empire Strikes Back)
Name: Kaylene Morrill Wheeler
Major: Print Journalism
Hometown and State: Liberty, Missouri
Career Goals: My dream job is to end up either writing or editing at a running magazine—that would be amazing!
Favorite Location: Orlando, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona—Pretty much anywhere that’s warm and has palm trees.
I never leave home without: My cell phone. I feel cut off from the world when I forget it.
I have never: Gone skiing or snowboarding, despite living in Utah for five years.
Name: Rebecca Fluckiger
Major: Physiology & Developmental Biology
Hometown and State: Allen, Texas
Favorite Book: The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Favorite Location: My hometown. I moved out long enough ago that going home is the best feeling in the world.
I never leave home without: Chapstick
Favorite Quote: “Absurdity is very much needed on this earth of ours. Indeed, the whole universe is founded on absurdity, and, perhaps, without absurdity there would be nothing at all.” —Fyodor Dostoevsky in The Brothers Karamazov
Name: Monica Lunardelli
Major: Print Journalism
Hometown and State: Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Favorite Part of Editing: Designing and making everything look fun and interesting!
Least Favorite Part of Editing: The usage dilemmas
Favorite Vacation Story: My whole family (including uncles, aunts, and cousins) rented a big and comfortable travel bus. We all hopped in and traveled around Brazil’s northeastern coast. It was a messy, fussy trip, but I’ll never forget the fun we had together and the bonds that were created.
Favorite Quote: “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.” —Marjorie Pay Hinckley
Name: Bryce Bristow
Major: Communication Disorders
Hometown and State: Lynchburg, Virginia
Favorite Part of Editing: Design!
I never leave home without: My shoes.
Favorite Quote: “To be pleased with one’s limits is a wretched state.” —Goethe
Dream Travel Location: Narnia
Name: Jessica Scott
Major: Spanish Translation
Hometown and State: Rancho Cucamonga, California
Favorite Part of Editing: Words and grammar! I just love the meaning of words and how they work within the grammar system of their language.
One Vacation Necessity: Energy and a love for life!
Favorite Vacation Story: When I was in Guanajuato I was still learning Spanish. The woman that I was staying with was trying to explain to me that she was going to make a drink out of the Jamaica flowers that were in a vase on her table, and she wanted me to try it. What I understood was that she wanted me to eat the flowers. I thought it was kind of weird, but I was open to trying new things, so I went to grab one and take a bite. Luckily she stopped me in time, and later I was able to enjoy the agua de Jamaica.
Favorite Quote: “To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world.” –Anonymous
Name: Angela Smith
Major: English Language
Hometown and State: I’ve lived in seven states, but I graduated from high school in St. Johns, Arizona.
Favorite Part of Editing: I love most of it, but my favorite part would have to be reading over the final draft and seeing how it became more clear and concise.
Favorite Vacation Story: When a woman physically hauled me to her booth and started putting jewelry on me, saying “this look very good on American girl! You make pretty, yes? You like, yes? I give you very good price.”
Favorite Quote: “Be who you are and say what you feel because those that mind don’t matter and those that matter don’t mind.”—Dr. Seuss
Name: Courtney Moyer
Major: English
Hometown and State: Riverside, California
Career Goals: Edit or design for a publishing company. I also want to be a novelist.
Least Favorite Part of Editing: That moment when you know a word is spelled right but it just looks wrong.
Favorite Vacation Story: On my trip to Maui, we hiked up to a waterfall. The hikers coming down told us it would only take an hour, so I hiked up with my family—the hike took over four hours. It was an amazing hike though and I’m glad those other hikers lied to us.
I never leave home without: My zombie apocalypse survival kit.
Favorite Quote: “The sun was in my eyes, Astrid. What do you want me to do, block out the sun? I can do that but I don’t have time.”—How to Train your Dragon
Name: Julie Hulet
Major: Physiology and Developmental Biology
Hometown and State: State College, Pennsylvania
Favorite Part of Editing: Red pens and marking up a manuscript
One Vacation Necessity: Clothes, probably
I have never: Bungee-jumped or sky-dived, but I will
Dream Travel Location: Thailand
Name: Jordan Carroll
Major: Print Journalism
Hometown and State: Grew up in Texas. Graduated in Nebraska.
Career Goals: Write, photograph, and design my own packages for a travel magazine.
Least Favorite Part of Editing: Sending pages to the printer. It’s the most nerve-wracking feeling.
Favorite Location: Can it include an entire region? Because I love the entire Middle East: Israel, Egypt, Jordan.
I have never: been to Europe. It’s a crime, I know.
Marv Gardner, Editor in Chief
Teaching Professor, Department of Linguistics and English Language, Brigham Young University
Hometown and State: Grew up in Duncan, Arizona, and Provo, Utah. I currently reside in Pleasant Grove, Utah
Career: Before becoming a professor at BYU in 2005, I worked for 28 years as a full-time editor and writer for the Ensign and Liahona magazines, both of which are distributed worldwide. For more than half of those years, I was managing editor of the Liahona.
Favorite Part of Editing: Working with interesting people who have something worth saying.
Favorite Travel Experience: In the early 1990s, I traveled to a remote, obscure village in Paraguay. When I stopped at a random dwelling, the first person I happened to meet was a man sitting on a wooden chair under a tree, reading a recent issue of the international magazine I had edited.