Where I’m from.

I grew up in a rural mountain town in Idaho, tucked between the Frank Church Wilderness and the mountains of the Great Continental Divide. This environment combined with my mother, a science teacher*, and my father, a Bureau of Land Management rangeland specialist, taught me to view the world through a natural lens.

The exploratory nature of my family produced an active adolescence. I grew to become an athlete that enjoyed a wide range of activities like snowboarding, river rafting, weight lifting as well as participate in team sports like basketball, volleyball, and track. Additionally, my family knew no boundaries and I found myself no stranger to exploring the outdoors, multiple states, and foreign places.

By high school, I noticed the high rates of depression, substance abuse, and suicide within my community, which led me to discover how meditation can be used to improve resiliency by lowering stress-responses, therefore mitigating these disorders. Learning that our behaviors have the power to change our cellular and molecular structure guided my decision to help understand those suffering from mental health disorders by pursuing psychology.

*courses taught: advanced first aid and CPR, anatomy and physiology, scientific research, society and science, biology for adults, parenting, health, physics, chemistry, earth science, life science, physical science, biology, environmental science, geology, mammalogy, zoology, astronomy, and botany

Where I’ve been.

I left my small town and headed for the big city of Boise to attend Boise State University. During this time, I diversified my friend group, knowledge, and skill-set which gave me opportunities to continue learning about human behavior, including my own. My ability to observe and critically question was strengthened by community engagement and volunteering, studying and traveling abroad, university courses and joining a BioPsychology research lab.

After graduating with a B.Sc. in Psychology, I was hired by my undergraduate lab as a Research Coordinator where I took on a leadership role within that clinical research setting. Eventually I realized I was more interested in the biological aspects of psychology and moved to San Diego to join the renowned science niche.

If Boise was my budding stage, San Diego was the start of my bloom. Here, I immersed myself in a Molecular Neurobiology Lab (Xin Jin Lab) at the prestigious Salk Institute. My time spent in San Diego expanded and strengthened my brain, heart, body and soul in ways I did not think was possible.

I am not finished learning and have decided to pursue a doctorate degree in Behavioral Neuroscience at University of Colorado Boulder (my mother’s alma mater).

Where I’m going.

If I’m being honest, I find most things interesting, however, I’ve honed in on a few specific areas that I find particularly fascinating. 

Neuroscience is my spark and I have every intention to investigate the biological attributes to learning, motivation, and fear while simultaneously focusing on education outreach for underprivileged or incarcerated populations. If things go according to plan (like they always do...) I plan to use my doctoral work as further evidence supporting the notion that goal-setting improves depression, PTSD, and substance abuse. I am just now starting this journey so stay tuned!

Other passions include the optimization of physical, mental, and emotional health of myself and others. Since these three aspects of my life are interconnected, I am excited to continue examining how things such as nutrition, movement, and meditation influence behavior and well-being.