Now a freshman at Dartmouth College, Sloan constructed Tuesday’s puzzle entitled “Little Bird of Mine'' in December 2019. Before submitting her crossword to the newspaper, the 2020 Dalton graduate made some alterations to the puzzle, which features several candy-themed clues.

Sloan attributes her passion for crossword construction to “the result of many mornings spent peering over my dad’s shoulder at the breakfast table as he solved the daily puzzle.”