Visiting offices isn’t usually high on wish kids’ lists. Unless, of course, you’re talking about the office of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company – the setting for NBC’s hit comedy The Office. Sixteen-year-old Anna wanted to visit this office more than any place else in the world.

When Anna was a small child, she was diagnosed with hypoplasia, a medical condition affecting the development of her arms and legs. Coping with her disability has been challenging at times, but it never kept her from her passion for all things related to film, theater and television. The Office, her favorite TV show, was the inspiration for her wish.

“I’m a huge fan of the show, and I want to go into the film industry someday,” Anna said. “I knew visiting the set of The Office would be amazing and would help me learn for my future.”

Wish granters from the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central & Western North Carolina soon had Anna and her family on a plane bound for sunny California. Before she knew it, she was standing at the front door of the Dunder Mifflin office – a place she had seen her favorite characters enter and exit from so many times on TV.

“It was really cool because The Office films in a real building, not on a soundstage,” Anna said. “They opened the door for me, and B.J. Novak (Ryan Howard on the show) was standing right there!”

B.J. and Anna became fast friends – they still send each other letters today – and he was only the first of many cast members Anna met. Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute), John Krasinski (Jim Halpert), Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly) and the rest of The Office gang greeted Anna, and she watched them rehearse two scenes.

“I was in shock, but they were all so down to earth and different from their characters in real life,” Anna said. “They all told me about their day-to-day life filming the show and how they broke into show business. Jenna Fischer especially encouraged me a lot.”

And, of course, no visit to The Office would be complete without meeting the “World’s Best Boss” Michael Scott, a.k.a. actor Steve Carell. Anna said she was surprised to see him break character when he met her.

“I almost expected him to be telling jokes the whole time, but he was so down to earth and normal,” Anna said, laughing. “Just completely normal.”

Anna also got to learn tricks of the trade from the show’s film editor, prop director and producer. They gave her a signed copy of the episode’s script, and the show’s makeup artist gave her a makeover. She even took a full tour of the set and sat at Michael Scott’s desk.

Anna hopes her wish trip will be the first of many visits she makes to Southern California. The college-bound teen toured the University of Southern California campus while she was there, “and just fell in love with it.”

In the meantime, she is staying in contact with one of the executive producers of The Office but swears he hasn’t given her any clues about what’s next for her favorite characters.

“I think they have to keep Jim and Pam together, though,” Anna mused. “They took so long to get together, and they’re just perfect for each other.”

By Kathryn Roethel