Education & Background:
Pursuing a double B.S. in Genetics and Genomics, and History with Honors. Certificate in Environmental Studies. Expected graduation December 2022
A.A. in Biology with Distinction, University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, 2017.

Awards and Grants:

2021 Center for Educational Opportunity Scholar
2019 Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Scholar
2018 Osher Scholarship
2017 Paving the Path for Adults in Higher Education
2016 Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship

Research Interests:

My curiosities are primarily about biological evolution, broadly speaking. No specific organism binds my interests, and I am fortunate to learn about the variety of creatures my prolific lab mates study. I find myself attracted to community assembly ecology, the ebb and flow of populations over time and space, and coevolutionary processes, among other relationships. What I’ve found most exciting is the exploration of biological rules for different systems. The Molecular Ecology Lab offers me the perfect opportunity to study Spiroplasma and its insect host symbiont Nebria ingens, which exist in a sky island system where population’s are genetically structured by repeated glaciations throughout the Pleistocene. Yi-Ming Weng provides his expertise as a mentors in the subject.

I am also fascinated by the history and evolution in ideational systems found in sciences, philosophies, technologies, prisons, wars, religions, nations, and cultures.

Personal Interests:

I thoroughly enjoy tutoring, mentoring, and encouraging others. Additionally, I take pleasure in discussion with friends and finding out about their day, playing games, hikes through natural areas, camping, great food (very spicy foods, including the peppers known as super hots), absurdist comedy, joking around, and going to live events. Some of my favorite kinds of fictional genres are fantasy, medieval, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk, etc…