I completed my B.S. in Biology at Centre College (Danville, KY) and continued from there to attain my M.S. at Auburn University (Auburn, AL). During both my undergraduate and Master's degrees, my research focused on plant biology and floristics (primarily of wetland plants). I worked under the advisement of Dr. George Folkerts for my Master's. He also encouraged me to pursue aquatic entomology, and for that I am extremely thankful as it developed into my future trajectory as a Ph.D. student.

 

Following my Master's degree, I decided to explore science in action. I worked as a conservation biologist at Callaway Gardens (Pine Mountain, GA) where I split my time between plant conservation projects and environmental education. I then joined the natural resources staff at Fort Gordon (near Augusta, GA) where I developed a long-term vegetation monitoring plan for the undeveloped land on the base. I also helped with a wide array of other land management projects including pre- and post-herbicide vegetation monitoring, the ongoing prescribed fire project, and gopher tortoise surveys. From these two professional positions, I gained a world of knowledge about how scientific research can be put to use in the real world.

 

Although I thoroughly enjoyed seeing science in action, I realized pretty quickly that teaching and research were my true calling, and I decided to return to school for my Ph.D. I worked with Dr. Darold Batzer in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia where I studied (among other things) the impacts of large scale dams on macroinvertebrate communities.

 

Following my PhD, I had the privilege of working at the Springs Stewardship Institute (SSI) (springstewardship.org) in Flagstaff, Arizona. The primary goal of SSI is to monitor, conserve, and rehabilitate springs ecosystems. In addition, we worked with citizen scientists, governmental organizations, and Native American Tribes to promote understanding and conservation of these precious keystone ecosytems. They are doing some really excellent work across the western U.S., and I would encourage anyone interested in their mission/goals to check them out!

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I'm currently an Assistant Professor at Piedmont College in Georgia. I am very excited to be part of the Department of Natural Sciences here and look forward to getting my teaching and research programs underway.