Liz Funk ’09 has written for major media outlets such as USA Today and the Huffington Post, appeared on the Today Show, and published a book – all before her 20th birthday.

“I drink a lot of coffee, and that keeps me going for about nine hours a day,” said the English major. “I’m just really passionate about women’s issues and exploring generational trends.”

Funk is a model student and all-around overachiever. As a sophomore in high school armed with a variety of For Dummies books on freelance writing and book publishing, she set out to “learn as much as [she] could about the media industry.” She pitched stories to magazines and newspapers, and landed her first major gig as a blogger for Albany newspaper the Times-Union.

She came to Pace in the fall of 2006 after completing her freshman credits at community college during her last year in high school. By this time, the aspiring writer was already well versed in the ways of the media. Her job as a blogger proved to be a launching pad for her to branch out and write for publications such as CosmoGIRL! and The Christian Science Monitor.

This March marks the release of her first book, Supergirls Speak Out (Fireside). Funk spent several months on the road following the lives of five young women ranging from high school students to a New York-based investment banker. Part memoir and part investigative research, Supergirls examines the phenomenon of an over-achieving generation of young women. It is an issue that the author, a self-proclaimed “recovering supergirl,” is still trying to reconcile.

“I’ve always dealt with the pressure among young women to be perfect,” Funk said about  the inspiration for her book. “I thought it would be really important to have a young person talk about the pressure…from inside the phenomenon.”

Funk recognizes that her experiences at Pace have contributed to her continued success as a writer. “I wouldn’t have the career that I had if I wasn’t in New York City,” she said. “Having lived [here] and having gone to Pace is a big part of my identity. I feel lucky that I was able to have been the New York City writer that I always wanted to be for a couple years while I was in college.”

To read more about Liz and Supergirls Speak Out, visit her on the Web at lizfunk.com. You can also click here to catch her appearance on the Today Show.