I first met Jana when I was a senior in high school and she was a freshman. Even though I was almost 4 years her senior, for the next 11 years of our friendship Jana would serve as a touchstone for me on almost every issue of social justice that I was drawn to. Even at the age of 14, it was clear that Jana was something special. While Jana was a physically striking individual, towering over my 18 year old self, even though she was only 14, the most awe-inspiring attribute that she had was her personality.

Jana was, in every way possible, somebody who truly lived. She embodied the phrase "go big or go home". She and I became friends through the drama and music departments of our small town and it was clear to see that she was driven to be herself, no matter what people thought of it. The beauty of Jana was that she expected the same from her friends, and if you weren't yourself, she was disappointed with you, and something about Jana made it so the last thing you ever wanted was for her to be disappointed in you.

After I went to college, Jana and I kept in sporadic contact through the years, usually emailing or calling each other once or twice a year to catch up on what was going on in our lives. It was several years later that I had a moment with Jana, through one of these email conversations, that changed the path I was on, and made me the activist that I am today. While the exact conversation is lost to me, and I'm notoriously bad about deleting emails that I later wish I hadn't, the essence of the conversation is something that I have never forgotten, and never will.

Jana had just recently discovered her passion for the women's studies department at the University. So, in this email she was imploring me to consider the gender norms that I was confronted with on a daily basis, and to question them. She and I often talked about political and social justice subjects, as we had always been a pair of liberals in a small, conservative Kansas town, so it was one of our first bonds we formed. However, something in the way she implored me to examine my life, the gender norms I saw, and the injustices that were happening all around was different this time. I felt that Jana had found her calling, and by extension, she had set me on the path to find mine.

It turns out that I was right. Jana became a tireless advocate for feminist issues, including, but not limited to, reproductive justice, sexual assault awareness, and domestic violence awareness. It was through seeing Jana's work for these causes that I began to find myself drawn to them. In a way, even though I was almost 4 years her elder, Jana served as an inspiration, a mentor, and a friend in ways that nobody else ever could.

It is for this reason that I am so proud that we are able to carry on the work that Jana was committed to. With the 1100 Torches campaign, started by her parents shortly after her murder, and now the Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture Series, I hope that we can make sure that Jana serves to inspire great deeds from people for years to come. I also hope that with her name attached to this series that people continue to hear the story of this amazing woman whose life was stolen away from the world much too early.

I can say that in the future, when I'm telling people of the things that I am most proud of in my life, I hope the list is long. But I already know that the top two things on that list have been set in stone. One of them is that I helped put together a series of lectures to honor Jana Mackey's memory.

The other, and the one that will come before all the rest, is that Jana Mackey called me her friend. I can't think of a higher honor that could be bestowed on me.