Four years ago, in a moment of existential crisis, she wandered up the steps of the Journal's house at Queen's University, where she was pursuing a degree in English literature and philosophy. There, she learned how to write a news story. She spent the next three years intrigued by her newfound perspective and avoiding her classes. Before becoming editor in chief of the Journal in 2007, she spent a summer reporting at the Kingston Whig-Standard. Her favourite assignment meant getting back to her sailing roots, spending 24 hours watching a 14-year-old girl try to swim Lake Ontario in a thunderstorm from the top of a trawler boat, and filing stories by cellphone. After leaving Kingston, she worked as a news copy editor and freelance writer at The Globe and Mail, writing primarily about beautiful Toronto houses. Sometimes she's lucky enough to write about the interesting people inside them. A born-and-bred Torontonian, she's happy to be doing her master's in journalism at Ryerson. While she'd eventually like to do some travelling, she is interested in what makes Toronto tick and would like to keep her reporting close to home. She especially likes taking photos of commuters and the TTC. Chances are she'll try to analyze you a couple of minutes after you first meet, and may ask you one or two overwhelmingly straightforward questions. She likes reading, musing and eating - not cake, and particularly cheese. Mostly, though, she wants to get to know you.
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Katherine Laidlaw once walked into an empty New York City subway station in midafternoon, and immediately felt as though she had intruded upon something sacred. Since then, she's been fascinated by cities and how people navigate within them.