Name: Lauren Boyer
Age: 23
Hometown: Hershey, Pa.
Current city: York
Job title: Business reporter
Alma mater: Penn State, class of 2009
20-something confession: I don’t live paycheck to paycheck, but sometimes I act like it. I’m a firm believer that everything you need in life can and should be purchased at the dollar store.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: I graduated early and returned home to live with my parents and work full time at a reporting fellowship in Harrisburg. Nothing prepared me for that return to adult supervision.
Proudest adult moment: Setting up my 401K at the York Daily Record. I gave into my dad’s coaxing, and decided to contribute 10 percent of my income. I hardly notice it. Plus, I’ll be living large when I’m 60.
Current goal: Buy a house before I’m 25. And then adopt a rottweiler.
Name: Kim Curran
Age: 24
Hometown: Emlenton, Pa.
Current city: Dillsburg
Job title: Editorial Assistant
Alma mater: Clarion University of Pennsylvania, class of 2010
20-something confession: I absolutely hate to iron! Every time I try it, one wrinkle becomes two, two becomes three, three to four. I have been known to rewash clothes just to avoid the futile task of ironing.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: Leaving my great college friends was the hardest thing to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love the family that I have in the area but nothing takes the place of friends.
Proudest adult moment: I changed the brake pads on my car … well my dad helped a little, maybe a lot. OK, fine, I assisted my dad in putting new brake pads on my car.
Current goal: Travel to Europe
Name: Sarah Chain
Age: 23
Hometown: Ridgefield, Conn.
Current city: York
Job title: Multiplatform features copy editor
Alma mater: James Madison University, class of 2010
20-something confession: It is a miracle I haven’t killed myself in the kitchen. A few months ago I turned on the wrong burner on my stove. When the burner I wanted wasn’t getting hot, I slammed down my hand on the other burners to see if any of them were working. Surprise, one was — I had a bandaged hand for a month.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: Not splitting costs with roommates. In college I cringed at a $40 electric bill in the winter. In my first apartment out of college, I prayed for one that came in under $200.
Proudest adult moment: Hosting my family’s Thanksgiving dinner in my 4-by-4-foot kitchen. We ran out of proper serving spoons and stuck an ice-cream scoop in the mashed potatoes, but I still count it as a success.
Current goal: To live in one apartment for more than 12 months (I’ve moved six times in five years) and finally put down roots somewhere.
Name: Chris Dunn
Age: 24
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Current city: York Township
Job title: Multiplatform photojournalist (I think…)
Alma mater: Missouri, class of 2010
20-something confession: I never owned furniture until the week I got my job (well, besides my mattress set). Having moved a total of eight times since May 2010, I always made sure that I never acquired more belongings than could fit into my car trunk. Until now.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: The prospect of living more than 1,000 miles from family has finally set in. When I was in college, I went back home for Thanksgiving week and maybe two weeks over winter break. Now that I’m living at a more “permanent” distance, I’m actually very good about calling home once a week and regularly talking to my mom on iChat.
Proudest adult moment: Paying the full monthly amounts on my student loans. Also, signing the lease for my own, big-girl apartment for December.
Current goal: Pay off my student loans. They are the single most depressing thing in my life right now.
Name: Bethany Fehlinger
Age: 25
Hometown: Wilkes-Barre
Current city: Dallastown
Job title: Multiplatform news copy editor
Alma mater: Penn State class of 2008
20-something confession: My parents still pay my cell phone and car bills, despite my protests. Though they warn me that one day soon it will be my responsibility.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: I feel like I have less time to get things done than before, when I was working two jobs and had a 15-credit workload.
Proudest adult moment: Moving myself two times in three years; figuring out car troubles on my own.
Current goal: Deciding the next move in my romantic relationship; make York more vegan-friendly
Name: Jess Krout
Age: 25
Hometown: New Freedom
Current city: New Freedom
Job title: Multiplatform features copy editor
Alma mater: Shippensburg University, class of 2008 (graduated 2007)
20-something confession: Is it wrong to assume every fridge automatically defrosts? When my apartment fridge started dripping water, I assumed it was broken. Thankfully my mom informed me (before I called the landlord) — I just needed to defrost it.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: Practically every dinner in college consisted of alfredo pasta and garlic bread at the dining hall. My diet might be much healthier now, complete with vegetables and fruits, but there are still some nights I crave the cheesy white sauce.
Proudest adult moment: I put air in my tires. By myself. Yep, it was pretty exciting.
Current goal: To buy a house (with a white picket fence would be nice) and be the perfect mom and wife donning an apron and full skirt — “Leave it to Beaver”-style.
Name: Bill Landauer
Age: 37
Hometown: Biglerville
Current city: York
Job title: General assignment reporter
Alma mater: Shippensburg University class of 1996; Wilkes University class of 2006
20-something confession: I’m not 20-something.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: I had to learn how to learn to use Netscape, come to terms with the demise of Crystal Pepsi and buy my first CD player, all amidst the looming fear of the impending Y2K disaster.
Proudest adult moment: When I won the Super Bowl in Madden NFL 1998 with the Eagles. Starting at QB: a 7-foot-2-inch tall left-hander named Bill Landauer.
Current goal: To be 20-something again.
Name: Ashley May
Age: 21
Hometown: New Freedom
Current city: New Freedom
Job title: Multiplatform copy editor
Alma mater: Ithaca College, class of 2012
20-something confession: When I have a little money in the bank, I like to splurge on perfume. Right now, I really like Oh, Lola! by Marc Jacobs.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: I moved back in with my parents after an early college graduation. I love my parents, but I also love my independence.
Proudest adult moment: My proudest adult moment was going off all of my parents insurance plans, because I had my own.
Current goal: I want to afford to live in an apartment where the walls are full of original art, the porch is full of plants and my kitchen is full of local food.
Name: Erin McCracken
Age: 27
Hometown: Norristown, Pa.
Current city: York
Alma mater: Penn State ’07
Job title: Entertainment reporter
20-something confession: I still don’t own a kitchen table. I have a counter and two bar stools, but I usually end up with a crumb-covered couch.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: Having to work on Christmas Eve
Proudest adult moment: Driving to Manhattan by myself on a whim to visit a friend
Current goal: To be a good aunt. My sister is going to have a baby!
Name: Emily Opilo
Age: 27
Hometown: York
Current city: Harrisburg
Job title: City reporter
Alma mater: American University, class of 2007, Syracuse University class of 2008
20-something confession: The electric bills at my last apartment were through the roof, so I tried to make it through the winter with no heat. Each night, I would come home from work, put on knee socks, a couple sweaters and mittens and walk around the house with a blanket.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: No health insurance. About halfway through grad school my parents’ insurance stopped covering me, and I had to buy my own plan. Holy expensive. I spent years paying my own way before I finally landed a job with benefits.
Proudest adult moment: I just bought my first car. Until this year, I had been driving a 1997 Toyota that my parents bought me in high school.
Current goal: I want to start a 401K. Retirement seems so far away, but I’m seriously going to be destitute if I don’t get my ass in gear.
Name: E.C. Pollick
Age: 22
Hometown: York
Current city: Downtown York
Job title: Marketing Copywriter and Coordinator for MediaOnePA and York Newspaper Company
Alma mater: Goucher College ’11, National University of Ireland, Galway ‘10
20-something confession: I regularly converse with the 8-year-old kids at the aquarium to make sure we see every animal in every tank. (Our conversations normally go something like “Did you see that green frog?!” “No! Where?”)
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: Dropping my night owl sleep schedule and actually getting to bed before 2 a.m. (sometimes …)
Proudest adult moment: First time reading my poetry at Bistro 19’s Open Mic in November. Now I read every Tuesday.
Current goal: Finally complete a New York Times crossword puzzle without cheating or asking my dad for the answers.
Name: Stephanie Reighart
Age: 25
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Current city: York
Job Title: Multiplatform journalist on the night news and digital desk
Alma Mater: Ohio State ’07, Dartmouth ’11
20-something confession: I still eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch at least once a week.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: Becoming friends with my parents. I may not need them financially, but spending time with them is so valuable to me.
Proudest adult moment: Buying a house.
Current goal: Pay off student loans and finish major home remodeling projects.
Name: Dan Rorabaugh
Age: 23
Hometown: Mount Joy, Lancaster County
Current city: Mechanicsburg
Job title: Multiplatform journalist on night news copy desk
Alma major: The Pennsylvania State University, Class of 2010
20-something confession: While most people spend their spare time balancing budgets, keeping in shape or keeping their homes in respectable living condition, I spend it watching nostalgic shows and movies online and horsing around with my two sonic screwdrivers.
Biggest adjustment after graduating from college: Shifting from a regular day schedule to working nights
Proudest adult moment: Making successful, exciting trips for myself and my friends when my weekends are Tuesday and Wednesday
Current goal: Improve as a journalist and page designer, write the Silent Hill 4 mini-series and get the Phillies another World Series
Name: April Trotter
Age: 26
Hometown: Tunkhannock, Pa.
Current city: New Cumberland
Job title: Multiplatform features copy editor
Alma mater: Penn State, class of 2007, and (fingers crossed) Shippensburg University, class of 2012
20-something confession: Once I left the stove on in my apartment all day while at work because I thought the “low” setting would substitute for a crock pot the first time I made chili
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: Not having my mom’s sweet $10-copay-for-any-medical-service insurance (note: I’ve never needed stitches or an MRI until I was on my own awful plan)
Proudest adult moment: Purchasing a car without my dad’s help
Current goal: To live in near-perfect harmony with boyfriend so neither of us has to go through the hassle of packing boxes/changing addresses/plotting the other’s demise.
Name: Brittany Wilson
Age: 24
Hometown: Hamilton Square, N.J.
Current city: Mechanicsburg
Job title: Hyperlocal and digital copy editor
Alma mater: Penn State, Class of 2009
20-something confession: I share the same cellphone plan with my grandma that I’ve been on since high school. She pays, I teach her how to use her phone. It’s pretty win-win. Maybe I’ll take over her payment once I turn 25.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: Cooking actual meals. My mom had a hot meal on the table every night and I lived on campus and took advantage of the meal plan for four years of college. When I moved in with my boyfriend, Jeff, the summer after graduation, a good, home-cooked meal was hard to come by (he lived on a diet of pasta, chips and bagels while at Penn State and tried to continue that into post-college life). But for the past two years, I’ve been trying to improve my culinary skills.
Proudest adult moment: Adopting my beagle, Emma. She’s makes me be a “responsible” adult while still feeling like a kid.
Current goal: Paying off my many student loans within the next five years. One is almost done, four more to go! And adopting more beagles.
Name: Leigh Zaleski
Age: 26
Hometown: Scranton
Current city: York
Job title: Features reporter
Alma mater: Temple University, class of 2008
20-something confession: For most of my 20s, throughout college and the first few years of my career, I cried every time I visited my family and had to leave.
Biggest adjustment after graduating college: Living on my own — away from family and friends — for the sake of my career, something I always said I’d do, but didn’t realize how hard it would be.
Proudest adult moment: Sticking out loneliness and becoming a happy, functioning member of society.
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