From an early age, I was sure I was going to be a teacher I loved learning and I loved helping others learn. In high school, I participated in job shadowing, the Future Teachers of America club, and other opportunities. Once I started college, however, I realized that the classroom/school setting of K-12 was not where I envisioned my career anymore. I changed my major to psychology. Because I love learning, I took Calculus II as an elective. And despite my change in majors, I still loved to support others in their learning and I found positions to do so. I tutored at the local high school, I provided supplemental instruction for a statistics class, and I was the teaching assistant for a general psychology course. One of my favorite moments in college was when I was reviewing material with a group of students who were struggling to understand Type I and Type II error. I explained how to think about these errors in a different way than their instructor, and they collectively had an "Aha!" moment. I went to graduate school at the University of Utah, where I earned MS and PhD degrees in educational psychology. My program included two graduate statistics courses, and I also elected to take a qualitative analysis course and a hierarchical linear modeling course (which I used for my dissertation). During my time as a graduate student, I taught "Strategies for College Success," which covered study skills and college-level writing. I have taught graduate-level courses in psychology and evaluation. While my positions since graduate school have not focused on teaching, I still enjoyed opportunities to share my knowledge and expertise with colleagues and students. I love to learn just for the sake of learning, while I also recognize that not everyone does. I can work best with students when we both understand what is motivating them (e.g., getting a good grade, receiving praise) and can use that to provide positive reinforcement and focus. I enjoy tutoring math subjects especially, and helping it make sense, but I also have significant experience writing and editing papers and can help students understand the why behind the rules of editing as well. Outside of academia, I love to travel with my sweetheart, where we often spend time learning about history and culture of new places. I also enjoy reading and playing with my cat when I'm at home.

I enjoy travelling and exploring new places with my sweetie, as well as being in nature (especially in the mountains). We also volunteer at an animal rescue sanctuary each year. When home, I enjoy playing with my cat and reading novels; I read many genres, but one of my favorites is culinary mysteries.