Formal Education

During my final two years of high school, I was also a full-time college student at my local community college. This was possible because I chose advanced coursework over electives, as few were available at my rural school. The same weekend as my high school graduation, I also earned an Associate of Science in Engineering and an Associate of Arts in Political Science from Colby Community College. 

Since I had already earned associate degrees, my general education requirements were fulfilled when I began pursuing my bachelor’s degrees. I strategically chose to spend four years on my bachelors, so I could build a wide ranging skill set to prepare myself for graduate school for planetary science. Being a full-time undergraduate for six consecutive years (two years at CCC, and four years at K-State) gave me the unique opportunity to triple major. After four years at Kansas State University, I graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry, a B.S. in Geology, and a B.S. in Geography. Each major was chosen for its ability to help me research the planets and moons. 

During my undergrad at Kansas State University, I did research in Dr. Kirk's geomicrobiology lab and interned for three summers at Los Alamos National Laboratory as part of the ChemCam team on NASA's Curiosity rover mission. For more details, please refer to my CV or the research section. 

More specific information of each degree program is found below. 

After completing my bachelor's degrees, I entered into a Planetary Science PhD program. However, I realized that the program wasn't the right fit for me, and I made the correct decision to leave after 1.5 years. During that time, I made the most of my experience and even had the honor of being a 2019 GSA Science Communication Intern and a selection as one of the 2019 Mars Generation 24 Under 24 Leaders and Innovators in STEAM and Space.

I immediately enrolled in my master's program in geology at Kansas State University in January 2020, just a few months before the global pandemic hit.  Due to the circumstance of starting in the spring semester with little notice, I did not have a research assistantship or a geology teaching assistantship. Nevertheless, I found an opportunity to teach for the chemistry department for a year.  In addition to this, I work virtually at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the Origins and Habitability Lab from March to August 2021, where I worked on machine learning projects involving iron mineral spectra.

Despite the unique challenges during my masters, I still managed to complete my master's in just two years and graduated with my masters in December 2021.  

My master's work was published in the Journal of Raman Spectroscopy.

I began my PhD in August 2021 with the goal of becoming a spectroscopy expert for planetary exploration. Two of my dissertation chapters focus on developing calibrations for opal, specifically its maturity (crystallinity). Additionally, I completed another internship at NASA JPL, followed by two internships at LPI after my NASA mentor moved institutions. This research will contribute to my dissertation chapters and is currently in preparation.

I also served as a TA for both Mineralogy Lab and Fundamentals of Geology Lab. As Head TA for KU’s GEOL 103: Fundamentals of Geology Lab, I transitioned the course to Canvas during the 2022 winter break. I also analyzed statistics from the previous semester’s labs, examining difficulty levels and student submissions. Based on this data, I made improvements to the course by rewriting unclear labs and increasing auto-grading to ease the GTA workload. These changes have enhanced the experience for both students and TAs.

Grant writing is a skill that won't become easier after my PhD, so while I have the time and mentorship, I have been applying for my own grants. So far, I have successfully secured grants from the Kansas Geological Foundation, Geological Society of America, and internal KU grants.

Some of these successful grants have been used to support the new annual outreach event I started in my hometown, called "Rocks and Rockets." For more information, please visit the website.