About Me

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

-Mary Oliver

I found my enthusiasm for nature and science at a young age. From the first time I turned over a log and stared transfixed at the salamander and spiders crawling underneath I knew this was my passion. My desire to know how everything works–down to the smallest detail–has never failed to stoke my curiosity and commitment to learning. I have grown up among the wildlife and made friends with every animal I met. As a kid I was fascinated with every living thing around me and spent my time exploring our natural world. When I started school, they called me the "chicken whisperer" as I would spend my time in the chicken coop playing with the chickens instead of the other kids. I named every squirrel who came by our house and would sit still covered in seeds to get close to them. All creatures have always fascinated me and it fulfills me to help them.

My Goals

As you know, I have always been passionate about animals. Now, my intentions have moved into veterinary medicine, where I hope to study surgery and animal behavior. I would also like to do research into the development of new medicines found in nature, the intricacies of animal communication and emotion, as well as working on writing projects to influence environmental policy and new forms of science education.

My Volunteer and Animal-Related Work

Rise Vet Internship

In 9th grade, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at Rise Vet Clinic here in Boulder, Co. I was able to see the inner workings of a clinic, witness appointments, and be a part of surgeries. I am immensely grateful for that experience as it showed me more of a day to day life of a vet. I plan to continue my work at RISE Vet as a volunteer intern this summer.

CSU Summer Science and Vet Program

This summer along with 21 other dedicated high school students (grades 10-12) I participated in CSU's Science and Veterinary summer program. The Sci-Vet program is a program for high school students interested in science and veterinary medicine. The program included presentations from experts, environmental field work, a visit to the CSU vet school and teaching hospital, and a CDC facility studying wild animals. We lived on the CSU campus to show us what campus life is like and worked with many of CSU's amazing professors. I loved this experience and CSU is currently where I hope to go to college.

Volunteer Work

Once or twice a year we visit Maui where me and and my mom volunteer at the humane society helping with adoptions, cleaning, and socializing the cats. It is always one of the highlights of the trip and though we cannot do it much, we will continue to return for years to come.

Starting last winter I began to volunteer at the Boulder Homeless Shelter. I love helping and offering a kind word to residents, most who have experienced lots of trauma. Homelessness here in Boulder is a complex issue that is interesting to investigate and I will always do my best to help in these types of issues.

I am planning to do more volunteering, and have reached out to organizations that align with my values and interests. I am also looking into the requirements to get my golden retriever, Tucker, certified as a Therapy Dog, because I am interested in bringing him to elder care facilities.