LUSK- Many Lusk readers will recognize a familiar though new to the Herald name on bylines in the paper. Harlie Jo Dreesen is joining the Lusk Herald team as a reporter.

Dreesen was born in Casper and raised in Lusk. The daughter of Sean Dreesen and Josette Jacob. She graduated from NCHS in 2013 and attended WNCC in Scottsbluff graduating in 2019.

Dreesen currently works at Rawhide Drug as a pharmacy Technician. She loves her job there and finds working with the public and serving the community extremely rewarding. She is also working towards her Associate of Science degree.

From a young age Dreesen has always loved writing and been interested in the medical industry. Writing has alway come naturally to her. When she was seven she took a road trip with her father to Denver. Before they could reach their destination she asked her dad to stop at Walmart because she needed a notebook. By the end of the trip it had turned into a storybook and was filled with her writing.

Dreesen’s route through school and into her writing career have been winding and at times, difficult. Learning difficulties and struggles with reading comprehension created challenges for her in the classroom. Hearing people tell her she could never make it through college motivated her to push herself even harder and accomplish what she was told couldn’t be done.

She has now started her own blog, is writing for the Herald and continuing to pursue a career in the medical field. She hopes that through her short stories and journalism she can reach just one person. Her desire is to help those who have struggling children or are struggling themselves in school to understand that they are only limited by how hard they are willing to work.

Dreesen states, “I am very humbled and blessed to have this opportunity to be a freelancer/independent journalist for the Lusk Herald and be an asset to this community. I never would have gotten to this point without the support of God, My family, friends, and former teachers.”

The Herald welcomes Dreesen and you can expect to see her out and about in Niobrara county covering events for the Herald.