“Gather together all your family and friends — anyone who will come — and get them here by 6 a.m.”

Those were my first instructions at FOX News. It was 1996. I was a junior at NYU, and a waitress at the CyberCafe in Soho. “FOX News Sunday” was making its debut, and wanted to use the — then novel — Internet cafe as a gathering place for a live audience to ask the in-studio guests questions via remote. If you caught that first show, that’s my step-uncle nervously asking about the latest in the Clinton vs. Dole race for the White House. And that’s my thumb holding the microphone.

Eleven years later, I’ve done everything from powdering guests to dodging katyushas while working for FOX News Channel. In just the past 3 days alone I’ve listened to a professor describe in detail how he beat his wife to death, interviewed a Boy Scout Troop leader about the organization’s stance on homosexuality, and walked some of the most dangerous streets of Philadelphia with volunteers who are trying to stop the violence. Every day is an adventure.