Well hello citizens of Sundre. I should probably introduce myself to those I haven't hassled with those pesky reporter's questions already.
They call me Patricia Riley (Trish for short), and I have been living on this beautiful Earth for 19 years.
I come from Calgary where my wonderful family – Terry, Debbie, Shannon and Candace – live, as well as my very special boyfriend Shane Merrick. These people are my support system and they make everything hard in my life seem so much easier.
It hasn't been easy leaving them behind and moving to Sundre to start up my journalism career, but it really isn't too far and they have been visiting me whenever they have the chance.
I graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) with my journalism diploma in May.
After graduation, I continued working at American Eagle Outfitters at Balzac's CrossIron Mills, where I found amazing friendships.
Even though I enjoyed my time there, I could hardly wait to start reporting.
When the job opportunity came up here at the Round Up with Mountain View Publishing, I was more than excited.
Being here reminds me of how much I love journalism. I get to write and take photos and the best part about it is meeting new people.
Not to mention, the staff of Mountain View Publishing are a great help and I can't thank them enough.
The reason I got into journalism was because I was inspired by Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.
What changed my world was the heartbreaking fact that polar bears are endangered. My love for polar bears and my love for writing combined to create an interest in studying journalism.
Ever since then I carry with me a goal of saving the polar bears. People say it's not realistic but that doesn't affect me.
I figure a good start would be to inform the world about what really is going on in their suffering by using my journalism skills.
Other passions of mine include reading, photography, cosmetology, animals, the environment, and helping others.
My parents tell me one of the first things I learned how to read was the newspaper, and quite frankly I'm not surprised.
I have always loved animals. When I was just a little girl, my family and I were travelling and I started screaming and hitting my father because he wouldn't pull over the vehicle to let me pet some bears that were on the side of the road.
That reminds me, one of the things I love about Sundre is looking out the window at deer lounging on the front lawn.
My whole life I have always been surrounded by pets. My family has owned everything from fish, cats and dogs, to ferrets, hedgehogs, scorpions, frogs, crabs, sharks, degus, birds, geckos, and guinea pigs.
I currently have a puppy named Rocket; he is a Chiweenie (a Chihuahua and wiener dog mix), a Pomchi named Tess (a Pomeranian and Chihuahua mix), three tabbies including Cub, Lydio, and my dearest 16-year-old cat Link.
Also, my sixth-owned guinea pig named Moose, who is quite the talker and never fails to tell me about his day – fortunately has been able to come along with me to this wonderful town.
I've always had this hope that in some way I could change the world, and I'm never going to stop trying.
