By Julie Godfrey Miller
Catholic Herald

New staff writer joins Catholic Herald

SUPERIOR -- Kelley Kepler has aspired to be a writer since the third grade, when she decided to write a book. She and a friend shared the writing and Kepler did the illustrations. Kepler said, "I always look back at that. I never did that with any other subject.

Kepler added, "I like writing short stories --I'm not much of a poetry writer. My goal has always been to write a novel someday.

Her love of writing eventually led Kepler to her new position as a full-time staff writer for the Catholic Herald. She began her new job on July 8.

In May Kepler received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Norbert College in De Pere, where she majored in English, with a concentration in creative writing.

Kepler said she didn't consider a journalism career until her last semester in college. "I tried writing for the (college) paper, and I liked it,-- she said.

Kepler served as an editor of the college newspaper, the St. Norbert Times, and as a managing editor of Graphos, the college literary magazine. She also worked as a writing tutor, working one-on-one with students from all academic disciplines and helping them with essays, term papers and other writing assignments.

During some networking at St. Norbert, Kepler had an interview with Tony Staley, editor of The Compass, newspaper of the Green Bay diocese. She said Staley told her of a possible opening at the Superior Catholic Herald, so she decided to send her resume. Kepler had never been in Superior until she interviewed for the job.

Kepler was born in Wausau and lived in Mosinee. When she was eight her family moved to De Pere, where she lived until her recent relocation to Superior. She is the daughter of Perry and Diane Kepler. Diane is an accountant at a small construction company and Perry is an engineering technician specializing in highway projects. She has two younger sisters, Leah Ann, 19, and Erinn, 18.

Kepler has settled into an apartment in Superior and hopes to get involved in a community band. She has played the clarinet for 13 years and minored in music at St. Norbert.

Kepler admits being a bit homesick for her family, now over 300 miles away. But it isn't the first time she has been away from home. During college, she spent about five months studying at the National University of Ireland in Galway, taking Irish literature, creative writing and other university classes. She also had the opportunity to travel around Europe during a break from her classes in Ireland. Kepler said staying in youth hostels gave her a chance to meet people from all over the world.

Her first assignment for the Catholic Herald was a story about a retreat for adult Scout leaders, which appears in this issue. She is also working on a story about young people in the diocese who are making the pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Toronto.

Kepler is happy to work for a Catholic paper. She said,"I think it is really neat to write about my faith and I want to explore that.-- She added, "It seemed like a more positive thing -- not focused on the negative things in life."

Editor's note: Kepler can be reached by e-mail at kkepler@catholicherald.org