New St. John reporter hired

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 2, 2001

LAPLACE – Along with the new year came a new St. John Parish reporter for LObservateurs editorial department. Amy Szpara, a native of LaPlace, has returned home after receiving her education at the University of South Carolina and Southeastern Louisiana University.

Amy and her family, Jimmy and Linda Odon and her sister, Kimberly, originally moved to LaPlace while she was in high school. She graduated from East St. John High School in 1993 and headed for basic training in the Army National Guard.

Amy had intended to go to school in-state, thus receiving financial aid from the Army, but while in defense school she met her future husband Raymond Szpara, married in 1994 and headed for school at the University of South Carolina. She graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts Interdisciplinary Major and continued on for a Master of Arts degree from Southeastern Louisiana University in creative writing.

In the last six months, Amy has moved back to LaPlace and spent time working on her novel and expanding her fiction collection. Her husband is receiving his education, also at Southeastern Louisiana University.

Writing is something that has driven Amy since high school. She studied journalism in the Army National Guard, and wrote for the service for five years. Amy is now at LObservateur to continue gaining writing experience, while she also works on her own to become the novelist and freelance writer she set out to be.