I manage the Biology Department's Prep Room where we culture bacteria, prepare microbiological media and reagents and set up labs for students. I am also the Building Coordinator for Rhodes Hall and serve on SEMO's Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee.

Most of my career was spent conducting research for Drs. Michael T. Madigan and Buffy Ellsworth at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. I was fortunate to have traveled for research opportunities to McMurdo Station Antarctica, the Pacific Northwest United States, and Yellowstone National Park, to name a few and have co-authored a few peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

In my free time, I enjoy taking care of and playing with my cats and dogs; traveling throughout the south with my fiancé to see Delta, Hill Country, Cotton Patch Soul, and Bentonia Blues artists perform; piecing & quilting; and thrifting.