SIDNEY — Sheryl Roadcap, of Troy, has joined the Sidney Daily News as a reporter.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Roadcap graduated from Greenville High School, Edison State Community College with an Associate of Arts and the Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She wrote for the OSU campus newspaper, The Lantern, and had been a contributing writer to the Piqua Daily Call since 2011.
“We’re very delighted that Sheryl has joined the team,” said Daily News General Manager Natalie Buzzard. “She’s a wonderful addition to the staff. We invite the public to contact her with story ideas.”
Roadcap will be responsible for Sidney government, police and fire department news, writing feature stories and covering local events. Eventually, she will edit opinion and religion pages and cover the municipal court.
“I’ve always loved writing,” Roadcap said. “I changed my major a couple times. I was a political science major, then switched to business. But I loved English and hated math. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do and I love to write.”
She graduated from Ohio State with honors, despite taking a five-year hiatus before her senior year and having to reorient herself to classes and study when she returned.
During the break, she had a child, Damian, who died of cancer at age 3, and she went through a divorce.
“If your marriage isn’t rock-solid to start with, going through something like that just destroys it,” she said. “My first child was my world.” Roadcap needed time to grieve for her baby and for her marriage.
A motorcyclist, she leaned on friends to help her get through.
“I have a lot of really great, close friend that I’m very grateful for. When you’re part of the riding community, you inherit a group of great people who look out for each other,” she said. “I try to remember that it’s important to give back, because we all need help sometimes.”
Roadcap now has another child, 16-month-old Luke. She looks forward to getting to know Shelby County better than she already does.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity to move forward to where I thought my life would be 10 years ago. It’s important to me to connect to the community. I want Sidney to be a part of my community now. I hope to be embraced by it,” she said.
Roadcap has been on the job since April 11.
“We’re really excited that she’s on the staff,” said Editor Melanie Speicher. “She brings a breath of fresh air in her outlook in looking for stories. We appreciate the skills she adds to the newsroom.”
“I love the fact that you meet a lot of new people and learn a lot of new things,” Roadcap said of her first weeks with the newspaper. “Every day is a new adventure.”
Send story tips and ideas to her at [email protected] or call her at 538-4823.
