The majority of my life has been rural.   I grew up in the countryside of North Carolina, playing in the streams and woods.  Then, at seven, my parents decided to move back to Fayetteville to be closer to our family.  I grew up a proud Pirate, attending elementary, middle, and high school here; ironically, I used to attend an academic program right down the road from one of PAN’s biggest enemies: the Summerlee Gob Pile!

After graduation, I attended Marshall University where I triple-majored in Ecology, Spanish, and Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry.  I really became interested in water science when I had a research fellowship at Virginia Tech and worked in the field with the VT Stream Team.  One professor’s work demonstrated the power of microbes: how they can rehabilitate streams and trace sources of pollution.   I was fascinated and since then I targeted my education and research toward water quality science.

After graduation, I wanted a job which was both near home and relevant to my field of study, even though I knew chances of finding one would be slim.   However, after a little research and asking around, I was delighted to find an Americorps*VISTA position open at PAN.  Now I’m grateful to be able to walk across the street to the office and work with an excellent team of people with a common vision!