My journey with public relations began nearly ten years ago, but it all began because of my desire to marry a NASCAR driver.

It was 2002, I was a freshman at Seminole High School in Sanford, Fla., and I was obsessed with NASCAR. More specifically, I was head-over-heels in love with Dale Earnhardt Jr., the attractive driver of the number eight Budweiser car. My room was plastered with his face – from life-size cardboard cutouts to posters and apparel. Heck, I probably paid for Junior’s first house.

Thus, when Dale’s autobiography Driver #8 came out that winter, I was one of the first in line to get my copy. I read the book from cover-to-cover, and surprisingly, the character that intrigued me most wasn’t Dale Jr. Instead, it was the book’s co-author Jade Gurss, Earnhardt’s publicist. I had always liked to write, but traditional journalism never seemed like the right fit: public relations seemed perfect.

Although, I knew very little about public relations, I decided it was what I wanted to do. Thinking back it’s crazy to think that I based such a major life decision on a book about a NASCAR driver. When it came time to pick a college, I explored a variety of PR programs in the Southeast. In the end, I chose the University of South Carolina for three reasons: 1) it was close to Charlotte, N.C., the hub of NASCAR, 2) the honors freshman dorms offered semi-private bathrooms, and 3) it had a great public relations program. It turned out to be a great decision, but clearly my decision-making skills were still developing.

While attending USC, I still planned to work for NASCAR, in some form or fashion. I decided to minor in sports and entertainment management to give myself a competitive edge, and I even took a NASCAR Marketing class taught by the vice president of marketing at Darlington Raceway. Yet, fate intervened and I ended up working in the USC Office of Media Relations during my final year at USC, which helped me break into a career in higher education media relations after graduating.

So far I have really enjoyed working in higher education, but who knows where the road will take me in the future. Perhaps I still have a chance to work with Dale Jr., even if the option to marry him is off the table (without first divorcing my beloved husband).