Dawn was born on April 16, 1969 in Cedar Lake, Indiana, where she grew up. Dawn was involved in many school activities, she was a cheerleader, a member of the golf team, student body president and prom queen. For Dawn's 16th birthday all she wanted was to adopt a whale in her name, so that's what she did. She graduated from Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana. “Dawn attended college at the University of South Carolina. She majored in psychology with a minor in biology, was also on the dance team, and became an active member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority” (“Dawn's