At age 12, Lacey was grounded for “prank” calling people to ask if Bill Clinton should be impeached.

That was everyone’s first clue.

Born and raised in Nebraska to a single mom, Lacey’s journey to D.C. didn’t follow a traditional path. Working fulltime since age 15, she knew there was something bigger and better out there.

After high school Lacey, a first generation college student, took classes full time while working full time at a burrito joint, including a part time gig at a doctor’s office. She also volunteered to edit for her school’s annual creative writing publication.

Always afraid she’d miss something, she was involved with everything.  At age 21, Lacey encountered an “opportunity for growth” when she discovered she wasn’t an only child after all: She had four siblings. This news was followed immediately by her apartment burning down. She needed a breather from school.

During her break, Lacey exercised her freedom by exploring Canada, taking spontaneous trips via Amtrak and meeting one of her sisters. After navigating over and around a few more comic tragedies, she adopted a kitten and with the help of an amazing G’ma and stellar friends, headed back to class.

At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lacey was an opinion editor and columnist for The Daily Nebraskan, a video editor for Strategic Discussions for Nebraska, a freelance contributor for the Star City Blog and a video-slinger at Blockbuster.  Two days after graduating with a bachelor of journalism, Lacey packed up her cat and headed toward that “bigger and better:” Washington, D.C.

As an Opinion and Books intern at NPR, Lacey edited book reviews, put together the editorial page each morning and even had a chance to write a reflective column about quitting smoking. the internship commenced, she headed for Los Angeles to try her luck before turning around and coming right back.

Now at WTOP, Lacey has taken the reigns as the overnight digital editor and writer of Website of the Week. A consummate fact-checker, she enjoys double and triple verifying information before she sends it into the world. She also dabbles in video any chance she gets, writes when she can and never lets a cute animal story fall to the wayside.

To contact Lacey, email her at lmason@wtop.com or follow @thisislacey.