Clare Trapasso graduated from the State University of New York at Purchase College, with a B.A. in journalism in 2002. In her senior year, she created a women's newspaper called The Cycle. After graduation, she joined the Peace Corps. She was sent to Independent Samoa in the South Pacific, where she taught college-level journalism classes in the capitol. When she returned to America, she became a South Carolina-based freelance writer. She is currently working on her master's degree in journalism, specializing in newspaper reporting at New York University. She hopes to pursue a career covering social issues nationally and abroad.