Patel, Poppy

Poppy Patel is a lucky young woman. She'll tell you that herself. Having come from one of the less well-off families in Millennium City, (she grew up in Northbridge ) she managed to secure a place at Harvard, studying journalism thanks to a story she wrote for her high school paper that almost got her killed.  Luckily for her, the story was picked up by The City Runner .  No-one was more surprised than she was but the story of illicit drug dealings within the school put her in a great deal of danger.  Luckily for her, the editor of the Runner was shown the article and he ran with it.  All due dilligence had been done.  Poppy had crossed her t's and dotted her i's (as best a teenager could) and he approached her, suggesting she drop the story before she named names and got herself killed (or worse).  She objected at first but when he sad the Runner would pick up the story, she relented and went back to trying to uncover easier stories (ones that wouldn't get her killed).  She was pleased to see that the story she passed on to The City Runner was used in several arrests.   After graduating high school, Poppy was approached by the Runner to do a story on local gangs.  She jumped at the chance to show what she could do.  She was set to shadow Lauren Lindermann and work with her to uncover the story.  When the two of them produced a story worthy of the Runner's name, Poppy was offered a place at Harvard, sponsored by the Runner, on the proviso that, if she graduated with honours, she would come work at the paper for a minimum of five years or, if she didn't pass with an acceptable grade, she would pay back the sponsorship.   This put a huge ammount of pressure on the young woman; to not only pass her course, but to excel.  Fortunately, she made two very important friends at Harvard, Catherine Alexandra Carter  and Grayson Prescott .  Both of whom helped her through her tenure and helped keep undesirables at bay.   On graduation, Poppy joined the staff of The City Runner and has been there ever since.