Understanding science is the key to understanding the world within and around us.

My background in science extends into my early childhood. My parents both read science based education books to me as I was growing up and encouraged me to always be curious and ask a lot of questions. I started my bachelors degree in biology straight out of high school. About halfway through my undergraduate work I decided to join the US Army. I served as a combat medic and was stationed at Fort Campbell, KY. After the Army I went back to school and completed my bachelors at Austin Peay State University. I focused on field ecology and spent 2 years working in a herpetology lab where I studied the resting metabolism of box turtles.
I also worked with 2 other advisors during my time at APSU and was awarded Biology Student of the Year as chosen by the faculty. I was also chosen by the national organization Council for Undergraduate Research to present my research to congress at their annual Posters on the Hill symposium. I was inducted into several honor societies and graduated cum laude.
I then moved to San Francisco to complete my masters degree at San Francisco State University in Cellular and Molecular Biology. During my 2 years as a graduate student I taught hematology and completed a research project designing an assay for testing specific protein interactions within the cell.
After SFSU I started teaching undergraduate biology at Evergreen Valley College and West Valley College. I taught at both schools for a little over 2 years before I moved to Virginia. I also have my K-12 teaching credential through the state of California.
I myself am going back to school to get another masters degree, this time in Exercise Science. I personally love learning and my dream is to be a student of science for the rest of my life.
In my free time I enjoy exercising, playing with my family, watching action movies, and listening to podcasts.