I attended Grand Valley State University in Michigan for my undergraduate degree, graduating in the spring of 2007 from the Honors College with a B.S. in biology and emphasis in aquatic science. While I have always had a love of biology, my college experiences led me to become passionate for ecology, conservation, and discovery through research. The latter was fueled by my participation in two summer research programs, the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement program at Grand Valley and the NSF REU program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. After graduating from GVSU, I worked as a research technician for a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University for a year. Following my ambitions to focus on marine systems, I am now pursuing my masters in marine science at UNCW, and plan on following this with a doctoral program. My current research will use network environ analysis to examine the hypothesis that indirect effects are more dominant than direct effects, focusing mainly on marine networks. One day I hope to put all my schooling to good use in a research position, focusing heavily on marine ecology and conservation issues.

I am an Honors Scholar currently working on my departmental honors project. For as long as I can remember, nature and its laws have fascinated me. My passion for learning, biology, and mathematics compelled me to attend the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics where I graduated from High School. I plan to attend graduate school and earn a Ph.D. in marine biology. I hope to work as a full time researcher or as a research professor. I am very interested in global warming and how changes in ocean temperature will affect ecosystems and individual organisms. More information about my research interests can be seen in my resume.

Links: Resume