Elizabeth is currently a National Correspondent for USA Today and has been a journalist for more than twenty-five years. After completing her undergraduate degree in the Scandinavian Studies Department, Elizabeth fell into journalism by accident, first taking on an internship at KUOW in Seattle, then selling her stories to NPR, followed by six years at the Associated Press, where she moved from Seattle to San Francisco. She has spent the past twenty years working for USA Today, covering technology, science, breaking news, and currently focusing on climate change solutions. She has traveled to, among other places, Japan to cover the tsunami, Indonesia to cover bird flu, and Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics. For Elizabeth, “being a reporter has been the absolute best job in the world.” During her time in the Scandinavian Studies Department, she focused on Scandinavian literature and Swedish, and she is still fluent today, having recently traveled to Sweden with her family. Her fondest memory of her time in the Scandinavian Studies Department is when King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden visited the department and held a luncheon with the students. Elizabeth, someone who enjoys talking with people, was seated next to the King to ensure a spirited conversation (see picture).