Email: aja.junior@patch.com
Hometown: East St. Louis, Ill. (Better known as East Boogie)
Birthday: August 5
Bio: Aja discovered her love and passion for journalism as a freshman at East St. Louis Senior High School. She became a high school columnist for the local paper, the East St. Louis Monitor, and she wasn't shy to voice concerns of parents and the student body. Following high school, she attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she became the music editor for Vox Magazine before earning her degree in magazine journalism and a minor in Spanish. After spending a summer at the Detroit News as a copyeditor and reporter, Aja moved to Tulsa, Okla., where she served as the editorial manager for the alternative newsweekly, Urban Tulsa Weekly, for one year before her big move back to the St. Louis area as a member of the Patch team.

When Aja's not attending City Council meetings or frequenting the local St. Louis Bread Co, she enjoys playing and watching sports (football, basketball and tennis) as well as spending time with her husband, Robert, and dog, Snuffy..

Your Beliefs
At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics
I'm very open-minded when it comes to listening to both sides of the issue. That said, I'm a registered Democrat, but it doesn't mean I'll always vote a straight ticket if it's not what I believe.

Religion
I grew up in the Southern Baptist church, but as a young adult, I've come to find myself more spiritual. Therefore, I'm still working on this one, I'll keep you posted, though.

Local Hot-Button Issues
What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

The Florissant community deeply cares about the on-goings of local government and being involved in each one.

I'm sure there's tons more that Patch, and I will discover together.