Sandy Banks On cold Cleveland days, young Sandy Banks had an after-school routine: She'd lay on the floor, put her feet on a heating vent and read Ann Landers and Dear Abby. Then she'd clip out her favorite columns. She still has a few. After graduating cum laude from Cleveland State University, Banks took at job at a local newspaper while making plans to become a teacher. Realizing her ability to teach through reporting, she was hooked on journalism. In 1979, Banks came west to The Times as a reporter. Her varied career at the newspaper have included stints as an editor, an editorial writer, an education writer and director of The Times' internship program. From 1997 to 2003 she wrote a regular column where she often mentioned her three daughters, Alyssa, Danielle and Brittany.