Undergraduate Degree: Syracuse University - Bachelor in Arts, Journalism

Undergraduate Degree: Syracuse University - Bachelor in Arts, English

Degree: New York University - Master's/Graduate, Humanities and Social Thought

I used to be an advanced tennis player, and taught tennis to more than 300 youngsters in New York City for a nonprofit during a summer break from Syracuse University. I still play tennis but not as much as I would like. Prior to Syracuse University, I would play in some tennis tournaments along the East Coast after school and during the summers, as I would compete in the "Girls 14 and Under" and "Girls 16 and Under" categories and I was often sponsored through nonprofits. As a teenager, I studied tennis at two prestigious tennis academies--Port Washington Tennis Academy located in Long Island, NY, and Pyramid Tennis located in Harlem in Manhattan, NY. I played mostly ATA tennis tournaments, the ATA or American Tennis Association is an African-American tennis organization, and I received a national ATA ranking in the top-15 in the 16-and-Under category. During that time, not many USA female teenagers played a sport, just three percent, but I was unaware because I was around female sports people a lot, and just felt most females were into sports. My other hobbies are organic wildlife gardening, hiking, walking, reading, writing poetry, and nature photography. I bake and cook, and I try to make health food that tastes like junk food, but using health food products. I play several sizes (sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, bass, great bass) of recorders that I started studying seriously as an adult, and I most appreciate playing Baroque music for its tranquility. When I lived in New York City, I would travel throughout the tri-state area attending recorder music workshops given by music professors in areas of usually Chamber Music, Sacred Music, Early Music, and Baroque Music. It was very intense playing the different sizes of recorders, and switching the different sizes around for a music piece. Different fingerings for some of the sizes, and my brain definitely received a workout of excellent quality. There was no preparation or knowledge in advance of what music would be chosen. Ball walls are great multipurpose exercise creations. Hitting tennis balls against a ball wall is a great experience, it is very energizing, it is also very easy to practice serves and fancy footwork. I enjoy playing with my two dogs in the park, and when I can I play with them at the ball walls somewhere, that is a happy experience. I throw the tennis ball over the wall, and they run around to get it, and they also like running after the bouncing balls off of a wall. I am an inventor of two agricultural products that help plants grow faster.