About Me

I am currently a third-year PhD student in the Integrative Biology Department and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program at Michigan State University. I am a member of the Gallant Lab which studies African weakly electric fishes and am working on my dissertation project investigating the evolution of unique aflagellate sperm in these animals and their reproduction in general.

I obtained my undergraduate degree from Indiana University in the beautiful Bloomington, Indiana. Go Hoosiers! I graduated with a B.S. in is Biology with a concentration in Integrative and Organismal Biology, a minor in Animal Behavior, and biology departmental honors. During my time at IU I participated in scientific research as a member of the Smith Lab which studies South American weakly electric fishes. I completed an honors thesis project on the relationship between species sociality and the evolution of communication signal function.

I grew up living U.S. military communities overseas including ones in South Korea and Germany. I graduated from Ansbach Middle High School in Ansbach, Germany as the Valedictorian of the Class of 2017. I was involved in several organizations during my time at AMHS including student government, yearbook, National Honor Society, and Student-to-Student (an organization dedicated to welcoming and sending off students as they move which happened frequently in our military community).