Profile

I am a first year PhD geology student at Oklahoma State University. I am also a science policy advocate and science communicator. I enjoy running, hiking, doing art, and learning new languages in my free time. I enjoy running to destress, as well as for causes; for example, I am a country captain for different environmental themed runs organized by the Thirst Foundation. Fun fact, I have the periodic table of the elements song memorized, and my favorite phrase is “mussels are livers for rivers.”

I study deep sea sediment cores to learn about the paleoclimate. Previously I studied river systems, evaluating how metals moved throughout the river environment. A cool aspect of my work with rivers was using mussels, which can record historic information, such as climate conditions! Now I work with deep sea sediment cores, where certain elements can tell me the climate conditions of the past, which is something I find to be very cool!

I also do science policy and science communication work. I primarily focus on climate, water, conservation, STEM education, and DEI legislation with science policy, as well as work to get more people involved in science policy. My science communication work includes breaking down technical terminology of my research areas to share information with the public.

A typical day for me includes waking up between 7am-7:30am CST. I make myself a cup of English breakfast tea, and then respond to emails and double check my calendar for any meetings. I get to the research building around 9am-10am (depends on the day), and  join in virtual meetings, work in the lab, build digital maps and figures, and write; not all of this occurs in the same day, but a good mixture most of the time. I also drink English breakfast tea throughout the day, and sometimes hot chocolate. I go home around 5:30pm, where I make myself a cup of English breakfast tea, and prep for dinner. I’ll either go for a run or do some art before going to bed.