Amanda Kovac, most of you know her as the puppy-loving, artistic-writing, guitar-playing girl. But you may not know some reasons why she came to be the Amanda you know and love today.

Amanda loves guitar, and whenever she gets a chance she’ll jam out and strum tunes on guitar. Amanda has been playing since freshman year, and she says it helps her naturally unwind and relieve stress; which most likely is caused by her 3 siblings. Amanda lives with her 2 younger sisters and an older brother who’s 21. And while they may fight and not get along all the time—just like with all siblings—they still love each other, like family.

Although possibly not as much as they love their elephant-of-a-dog Mammoth. According to Amanda, Mammoth didn’t come to her family the same way most dogs do, and on the contrary Mammoth is very tiny pup. Amanda’s Uncle, a railroad worker, came upon the tiny and dirtied mix-breed, and Uncle Kovac, being so kind, unceremoniously adopted him. After a brief stay at his home, Mammoth became too much trouble and Amanda’s family got a hold of him. And for 6 years, instead of a railroad track, he can roam in the house like a king, and can snooze he wants.

Furthermore, all this doesn’t distract from Amanda’s dedication to the newspaper staff. Especially since she loves to write and express her feelings on paper, she’s stayed committed since her freshman year. And while she still hasn’t learned how to record well on her phone yet, she won’t let that hasn’t let that stop her either.

Hopefully now after reading, you know much more about your fellow staff member and friend Amanda, and possibly the next time you see her you can ask to see cute pictures of Mammoth on her phone, if she can find out how to.