Hi! My name is Abigail, but everybody calls me Abby. Beside me in the photo is my husband, Nik. This is a photo of us on our honeymoon posing in front of
Haystack Rock, at Cannon Beach, Oregon. This might have been my favorite getaway yet!
Thanks for checking out my story. I think it might be best for me to start at the very beginning.
I was born in St. Louis, Missouri to my parents, John and Genevieve Moore. In my early childhood, my family and I moved frequently due to job relocation. These were not cross-country moves; They were Midwest moves. We would move an hour west, and then another 30 minutes south, and then 45 minutes north. You get the point.
I was seven when we eventually planted our roots in Quincy, Illinois. My dad and his side of the family are from that area, so it was an easy transition for everyone.
I have three younger siblings: two brothers and a sister, all of whom now live around the country and have families of their own.
From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a writer of some sort. For as long as I can remember, I have been absolutely infatuated by storytelling. As a child, I recall crafting my own "newspapers" at home by taping together 8x11 pieces of white printer paper, folding it newspaper style, and filling in the content. I would create my own comics, write my own stories, and dream that one day I'd see my writings in a hard bound book. I'd like to say that I have accomplished that goal by now,
but I don't. That goal is still in motion...
I attended a private Catholic school from 3rd grade through 8th grade, and later enrolled in the city's private high school, Quincy Notre Dame. I took advantage of every opportunity that came my way and involved myself in a handful of extracurricular activities. My highest priority was competing on the girl's tennis team. I was a four-year competitor, a two-time sectional qualifier, and two-time state qualifier. I was also a loyal member of the student publications and yearbook committee. There were a handful of activities that I tried over the years including soccer, cheerleading, student council, the kindness club, and quiz bowl. While I loved trying new things, tennis and yearbook inevitably became my most valued and consistent activities. Throughout the course of my high school career, I was a member of the National Honor Society, the Society of Academic Achievement, an IHSA Scholastic Achievement recipient, and the recipient of the Senior Journalism Award. Throughout my adolescence, I held a few different part time jobs that earned me extra spending money for nights with friends. My first ever part-time job was at Scotties Fun Spot
( a skating rink with laser tag, gaming, and go karts). It was as fun as you can imagine!
In 2016, I committed to Quincy University (a division II college) to compete on the Women's Tennis Team and received athletic and academic scholarships to do so.
With a background and interest in writing, I felt it only made sense for me to explore communications and journalism. Thankfully Quincy University had a strong journalism program and some amazingly talented professors leading its success. (Shoutout to Dr. Barbara Schleppenbach and Nora Baldner)! I was surprisingly delighted that I was able to achieve both athletic and academic endeavors at the same institution. With a declared major, I began to network and attempt to land a job in a newsroom - somewhere, anywhere, doing anything.
In 2017, I landed a job as a news clerk at the Quincy Herald Whig. The organization has since dissolved, but it gave me direct insight into how print newsrooms operate. As a news clerk, I wrote obituaries, entered agricultural data from the farmer's almanac, and wrote the "spotlight" sections of the newspaper. It seemed that I handled the aspects of the newspaper that nobody likely read. I knew that, and I did not care. I was working in a newsroom, and I really enjoyed it. I met the faces behind the hard-hitting articles posted nearly every day in the city paper. I saw their desks, their recording devices, and their frantic hands as they typed away to meet the evening deadline. It was awesome. It gave me butterflies... the good kind. Later, I joined the Q-Magazine Team at the Quincy Herald Whig as a freelance writer. I felt lucky to have that kind of opportunity: one that allowed me to interview people from the Quincy community. I felt I was able to spread my wings a bit more and operate as a "journalist". As the years progressed, I took advantage of a few other internships and opportunities that came my way. I served as a part-time social media manager for a boutique in the Quincy area. I also became a news correspondent for the Quincy Park District, reporting on local Park District events and interviewing people in the community.
By my junior year of college, I was honored by the Illinois News Broadcasters Association for my TV news storytelling and received a scholarship to continue my work.
In the spring of 2019, I accepted a news intern position at WXOW News 19 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I moved there in the summer of 2019. Admittedly, it was the most fun, yet life-altering summer of my entire life. Every day offered a different tune. I interviewed aspiring clowns at one of the nations largest Clown Camps. I rode in the passenger seat of a doors-off helicopter with a camera and filmed the entire experience for the evening news. I attended county fairs and interviewed farmers and tractor-pullers. I talked to veterinarians about how to keep your animals calm during fireworks. I rode on the drummers seat of a dragon boat and filmed the team as they paddled. I waited at the finish line of a Breast Cancer Awareness Run so that I could capture the perfect emotional moment and a few soundbites.
That summer ignited my flame for soft news and feature story writing.
During my senior year of college, I interned at a local news station: WGEM TV. I operated the switchboard for the morning news, controlled the microphones for the on-air talent, and created rundowns for the afternoon news. I recall that time of my life being the most hectic it had ever been. It was conference season for both tennis teams, which meant more time spent at practices. I would be at QU's North Campus until 1:00am finishing my package for the following day's college
newscast and waking up by 4:00am to be at WGEM for the morning news. I am not envious of my past self, but I am proud that I made it through that time.
I graduated from Quincy University in May of 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, with an emphasis in Journalism. I minored in political science. Why?
I thought I would become a political reporter. Arg. How aspirations quickly change. Post college graduation, I accepted a position as a content writer for a web hosting company in St. Louis. I spent nearly a year there before I accepted a new position as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at a St. Louis area Country Club.
I made my most recent jump to a completely new field as a Gift Planning Support Specialist for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Foundation.
My husband, Nik, and I live in St. Louis with our two dogs: a golden retriever mix named Boone and Border Collie Mix named Lola. One is a high-energy goblin and the other is a barking machine... I bet you can't guess which is which!? We are a proud auntie and uncle to our adorable niece named Mia. We are recently married, as of April 5, 2024. We honeymooned to the Oregon Coast, as you can see in the picture above. It is probably my favorite trip that we have ever taken together. We love traveling and hope to do much more of it in the near future. We have taken a number of trips together including Disney World, Chicago, Phoenix, Washington DC, New York, and many drivable places in between. We have many more places on our list that we'd love to visit someday, a number of them being a city with a sports team.
We are fans of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the LA Lakers. We like to hit the road a few weekends a year to watch the Bengals play another Midwestern team. When I am not at work, I spend my free time baking sourdough bread, writing, hanging out with my dogs, watching movies with the husband, and thrifting in person or through online estate sales.
My favorite shows are The Office, How I Met Your Mother, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul. I am a die-hard fan of Taylor Swift and an even bigger fan of her newest album: The Tortured Poets Department. She's a wordsmith - how could a writer not "Lover"? My favorite meal is a Cajun Crab Boil... I could eat that every day and never get tired of it! And finally, my favorite beverage is coffee.... I LOVE iced coffee, cold brew, and espresso drinks. My obsession right now is an iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso. My wallet would hate me if I bought one every day, so I make them at home. If you picked up on it, coffee was an inspiration for the creation of this website. While the goal of this site is to tell "people stories", the other half invites the nonchalance of a cup of coffee into the conversation. Storytelling requires a certain mind space to be able to recall life and past experiences. I believe this mind space is more easily cultivated through the joy of a brewed beverage. I believe that a cup coffee, or your favorite beverage, can help keep our discussion relaxed and light-hearted as you work to channel those memories to the forefront of your mind. Although "brewed" has many meanings, the interviewee gets to decide what kind of beverage would bring them into spontaneity with me. It could mean tea, a cold beer, or even a bubbly water. :-)
This project has been on my heart for a very long time. I created a website in 2020, hoping to achieve a similar goal: tell people stories. I named the site "The Arch Weekly" and intended to post a new story every week. What a lofty goal for a girlie who didn't have a clear plan or goal for the website. At the time, I knew what I wanted to do, but I did not have the resources or knowledge to be able to make it happen. There was also a bit of self-discovery that needed to take place before I could begin a new project. The website domain eventually expired after months of no activity and the idea died along with it. But the desire stuck with me. I can't describe the feeling. For as long as I can remember, and especially since my failed experiment in 2020, I have had a persistent, dull, feeling in my gut that I need to pursue this.... That I am meant to be writing and storytelling.... and that if I don't, I will be failing my soul purpose in some way. I feel lucky to now have the resources and knowledge to make this happen. I call this website my passion project. It's been a long time coming.
This project is in honor of my late grandparents, Bob Vescovo, Jack Moore, and Barbara Wentworth, who lived exceptional lives and would have had countless life stories to share if given the opportunity.
Thank you for your support!
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.