The Daily Elk Citian has welcomed Kendall Walker as the newest staff member.
Walker began last week as the schools page reporter, but also designs pages and assists the advertising staff with classifieds and legal notices.
"Kendall's passion and excitement for working in the newspaper industry will be a great asset, not only to our staff, but also to our readers," said D.W. Manning, Daily Elk Citian Publisher. "In the coming weeks and months we know she will become a well-known and welcome face around area school campuses as she covers school events and news."
Walker graduated in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in communications and journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman. While in college, she was an active member of her sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, and is still involved in alumnae events.
She currently lives in Clinton with her husband, James, and their two children: Cullen, who is 16 months old, and Gwen, 5.
Walker said she loves working in an environment that has a family feeling, and that everyone has been so warm and welcoming.
"I've always wanted to work at a newspaper. It's the reason I went to college. It's truly my passion in life," she said. "I feel that I am doing a job that really matters. Something that affects my community. I love that I have a job that I'm excited to go to in the mornings."
Walker is originally from Edmond, where she went to school from first grade until she graduated in 1999 from Edmond Santa Fe High School. She went directly to college that fall in Waxahachie, Texas, at Southwestern Assemblies of God University, where she finished up her freshman year of college.
That summer before school started again, her father was diagnosed with lung cancer. With the knowledge of her father's sickness, Walker decided not to return to Texas, but rather enrolled at the University of Oklahoma so she could be closer to home and help take care of her dad.
After finishing up at OU, she worked for an oil and gas company in Oklahoma City for several years while her husband deployed several times with the Marine Corps. In 2010, her husband decided not to re-enlist and took a job with Baker Hughes, which moved them to Clinton.
"Kendall already comes to us with a strong skill set, including writing and design capabilities," Manning said. "She has expressed a true desire to serve this community through journalism, and we feel fortunate to have her as part of our staff."
"I'm just so happy to be here at The Daily Elk Citian," Walker said. "I feel extremely blessed and I know that life is just going to keep getting better."