I grew up in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. A summer vacation to Yellowstone National Park opened my eyes to the possibility of a career in the field of wildlife biology. Since that trip I’ve focused all of my efforts on accomplishing this goal.
I was drawn to Virginia Tech by the beautiful scenery of southwest Virginia and the reputation of the College of the Natural Resources and the Environment. Coming into school I was extremely passionate about predatory megafauna—wolves, bears, mountain lions—my time here at Virginia Tech has helped open my eyes to other interests. My broad interests include physiology, ecology and predator-prey interactions. I am also interested in issues involving environmental policy, land management and global climate change.
This past summer I spent several weeks on a tropical ecology study abroad trip in Ecuador. I also spent considerable time working on the Virginia Appalachian Carnivore Study and assisting in hellbender nestbox construction for the Hopkins Lab. I am the current camera-trapping chair for the Virginia Tech Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society.
