I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for college and studied biochemistry. I was interested in the fusion of chemistry and biology because I was lucky enough to have two incredible high school teachers in those subjects. I wanted to understand how cells talk to one another or take on unique identities within the body. These questions led me to study cell biology at Duke University where I earned a Masters in 2017. My experiences in grad school have caused me to value the clear communication of science, a skill I'm always trying to work on.

I've left lab, for the time being, to focus on my other passion, rowing. I train full time with the US National Team and love being an elite athlete. I began rowing in college after I grew up swimming and playing other sports. I still love finding science in the real world and explaining it to my teammates or anyone else who will listen.