Dawn

Dawn Reed is a friend of Cassandra‘s at the University of Illinois. Dawn’s major is marketing.

Raised in a single parent household, Dawn’s teenage years were rough. Her dad died when she was young, and her mom worked to support her and her older brother.  After her grandmother also died, her brother became a drug addict. The family didn’t have medical insurance and used free clinics.  Dawn views college as a way to better her life.

Dawn has two sides:  the nerd who wears glasses and is serious about her studies, and the sex freak.  She lost her virginity to her brother’s druggie friends when she was 15 , and her sexuality is the only way she feels powerful.  Very promiscuous, she doesn’t know how many partners she’s had.  In addition, she owns a dildo and a vibrator. Dawn has an abortion in 1999 and undergoes a series of STD treatments.  She calls the experience a “wake up call” and changes her behavior. She also has an IUD insert, which produces side effects.

Dawn says she knows someone with a fake ID who buys alcohol.  She once tried to purchase beer herself but looks a bit too youthful to pass for 21.

Dawn meets Joel Schwartz in 2000.  She gets to know him first before telling him about her history.

After graduation, she receives a permanent job offer from the marketing firm where she was interning senior year.  

She eventually marries Joel, and they have three daughters, Dalia, Ariella and Rina.  In 2023, she’s working in the communications department of a local women’s rights organization in Chicago.