Leslie Reece Schichtel graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a BA in both English and communication studies and was a sports producer with NBCOlympics.com for the 2012 London Olympic Games. In addition to blogging with the Huffington Post, Schichtel covered the CMA Fest with the Country Music Association and has worked in the communications departments at CMT and MTV Networks. She is currently pursuing a master's degree at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.