Journalists of the Gazette: Meet Vanessa Miller

How long have you been at The Gazette?

I’ve been with The Gazette since 2010.

Where did you go to school?

I went to the University of Iowa, but I’m from the Denver Metro area of Colorado originally. I came to the University of Iowa because I wanted to go to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, but I fell in love with journalism at The Daily Iowan along the way.

What do you like about being the Higher Education Reporter?

I really love the higher education beat because of its diversity. You can cover every subject on the higher education beat. It’s always changing, it’s always interesting, and it’s super relevant to everybody in the state. Everybody knows somebody who goes to a college or a university in their life. If not, they are taxpayers and they’re paying money toward these public institutions and probably care what they’re teaching.

Share a fun fact about yourself.

This isn’t a super fun fact, but it’s a fact. I was born with pupils that are different sizes. I always had to have a card with me or in my car as I started driving to let people know that I didn’t actually have brain damage if I was in a car accident, because pupils that are different sizes apparently are a sign of brain damage.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I like to watch my kids participate in their activities. I have two kids who wrestle and are super into that, so we’re constantly traveling around with them. I have a third kid who plays basketball. So, we are always kind of juggling wrestling tournaments with basketball tournaments, but I actually love it. It’s fun to watch them compete.

Where can we read your latest work?

You can read my latest work at thegazette.com/vanessa-miller.

Comments: vanessa.miller@thegazette.com