If there's one lesson writer Ann Pedtke, Class of 2009, has learned, it's this: "There's no failure in getting a rejection. The only failure is not submitting your work."

At age twenty, when many young writers have yet to show any work to editors, Pedtke has experienced not only the disappointment of the rejection slip but also the elation of acceptances and the satisfaction of earning a paycheck for her poetry, fiction, and essays. More than a published author, already as a senior in college she's a professional.

In high school, Pedtke began submitting her fiction and poetry to Cricket magazine, a high-quality publication with a readership of tweens and young teens, most of whose contributors are adults with lengthy careers behind them. After several attempts, Pedtke eventually had a poem accepted for publication in the magazine—the first of a number of Cricket publications—and earnings followed. One of her Cricket poems was selected as a text for sixth graders to analyze in the 2007 New York State Grade 6 English Language Arts Test.

Now something of a regular contributor to Cricket, Pedtke was offered a rare paid summer internship in the publication's Chicago offices following her sophomore year. "Even though the stipend was just enough to cover my housing and expenses, it was a fantastic experience and may lead to other opportunities down the road," says Pedtke, who intends someday to make a substantial living as a freelance writer.

A double major in English and classics, Pedtke spent her junior year in England as a participant in the Kenyon-Exeter study-abroad program. (A journal of her experiences appeared on the Kenyon website.) Her absence was felt in Gambier, where during her first two years she was a student leader of the Kenyon Poets Society as well as an editor of Kenyon's oldest literary magazine Hika. As a member of the classics advisory group she helped organize a classics scavenger hunt, and is also a founding member of the Book Explorers at the Gambier Community Center, a program to promote love of literature among local elementary-school students. In case you're wondering how she keeps so many balls in the air--well, she's a member of Kenyon Jugglers.

But no matter how busy these pursuits may keep her, she sets aside time for writing daily. "In 2000, to honor the millennium, I started a poetry journal. I've written a poem for every day since then," she says. With that much practice, discipline, and drive, she's not only well on her way to achieving her dream of the writing life: she's already living it.