**Kara Tabor**
_Journalistic entrepreneur_
Kara Tabor of Medford, N.J., has been writing for Silicon Prairie News for about a month now, after hearing about the publication from a friend of a friend. SPN, which covers startups in the Midwest (and is, in fact, a startup itself), has given Tabor the opportunity to meet “people bursting with creativity.”
“(People who are) lifelong learners,” Tabor says of her co-workers at SPN. “They’re just as excited (as I am) about starting new things.”
Tabor, a peer adviser who also teaches an honors journalism FIG class, is a sophomore studying journalism at MU. Tabor has written two articles for SPN so far as a student contributor: one on Startup Weekend Columbia and another on Missouri Business Alert, a startup from MU’s own journalism school covering the state’s business news.
Tabor says she hopes her experience covering entrepreneurial startups as well as being “put in contact with great people in the Columbia startup community” will help her in her intended emphasis area of entrepreneurial journalism.
**Desiree Sauer**
_Embracing life one step at a time_
Nature has always fascinated Florida native Desiree Sauers.
“I love to garden and hike,” Sauers says. “(Hiking) is multipurpose. You can walk and forage for mushrooms and wild plants.”
Sauers manages to be a _full-time_ garden enthusiast while also studying _full time_ for a human resource management degree and working _full time_ at a veteran’s hospital.
Sauer will be taking a family trip to Yellowstone National Park for four days. It will be her first time visiting the park.
“I’m taking bear mace, as a precaution,” she says.
She enjoys taking part in nature, though “it sounds hippish,” because she feels “connected to the earth.”
“It’s fun,” Sauers says. “(Gardening) brings out the science nerd in me. I learn about all different types of hybridizing.”
Sauer is a classically trained singer. Vivaldi is her favorite composer and “The Four Seasons” is her favorite piece.
“’The Four Seasons fits in with gardening,” Sauer says.
For Sauer, change is valuable.
Moving to Missouri from her native Florida “set off a chain of events” that have changed her.
“I’m happiest when I realize I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be,” Sauer says.