After graduating from Dartmouth College in June 2020, I am looking forward to beginning my career in the environmental field! I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and a minor in Environmental Science. The most important and over-arching goal driving my personal, educational, and professional future is the desire to make a tangible impact on environmental issues facing our country and world today. I hope to supplement my environmental work with geography and GIS skills whenever possible. I plan to work, hopefully in the Washington, D.C. area, for a few years before attending graduate school.
What Motivates Me
I am seeking a career path in the environmental sector as I strongly believe in the need for this work and am motivated by mission-driven action. From a young age, my parents instilled in me a love for the nature around us. When I began running cross country in high school, I started to grow my personal interest in the environment as I explored parks around our home in Richmond, Virginia. When I took an AP Environmental Science class senior year of high school, I knew I had found my calling.
I delved into more environmental classes at Dartmouth, and ran on new trails in a part of the country I had never been before. I was continually inspired not just by my coursework but also by the beautiful environment around me, from the Connecticut River adjacent to our campus campus to the White Mountains I frequently hiked in just an hour north. I am driven by the hope to better conserve the nature we have, and improve sustainability of the resources we use.
Academic Interests
I have a broad range of interests in the geographic and environmental fields, sparked by various classes, independent research projects, and general curiosity. While I love learning about many other topics, here are a few that have been my focus:
| Environmental Law | Sustainable Food Systems | Disease Ecology |
|---|---|---|
Environmental Sciences 60: Environmental Law introduced me to the complex but exciting world of case law and federal regulation in the environmental field. As an intern with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, I applied my knowledge of regulation.
 A favorite project of mine was writing a legal brief regarding high levee heights of the Sny Island Levee Drainage District (Illinois) and how flooding then impacted downstream Missouri towns. |
I grew interested in how climate change dually impacts and is impacted by human food systems. In addition to food production, I am also concerned with sustainable procurement and healthy food access/food justice.
 For my term paper in geography senior seminar, I analyzed US CAFO (concentrated animal feed operation) biosecurity policy and its tendency for surveillance of already-marginalized CAFO worker populations. |
Through biology classes and especially this exciting epidemiology podcast, I am interested in disease ecology. Most of my education and research encompasses human infectious diseases, primarily zoonotic and vector-borne.
 In Global Environmental Health, I presented on the northward movement of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) with climate change. TBE is one of the many diseases that have shifting ranges with climate change. |
Personal Interests: Being Active
Beginning as a competitive gymnast at age 5, I have been active all my life. In high school I made the switch to track and field, and followed this passion through college. At Dartmouth, I competed in the triple jump, pole vault, and ultimately became a pentathlete (indoor track) and heptathlete (outdoor track) during my junior and senior years. Though the NCAA does not sanction the decathlon for women, as it is traditionally a men's event, I competed independently in an open women's decathlon in June of 2019.
As I move on from my athletic career, I am excited to continue being active! I began hiking during college and look forward to exploring beyond the Green and White Mountains. I also plan to continue running, practicing yoga, and exercising on my own and with friends. Inspired by group classes I took at the Kansas City YMCA during my junior summer, I became a certified PiYo Live instructor in September of 2019 and hope to teach group exercises classes in addition to my professional career. When I'm not at work or outside, you can usually find me cooking, reading, watching TV, or sketching.
On the triple jump runway
Mentorship and Work with Children
Tutoring: I enjoy connecting with others, especially fellow Dartmouth students outside my usual groups. For 2 years I worked as a biology tutor for Ecology and study group leader for Emerging Infectious Diseases, assisting students in reviewing material, preparing for quizzes and exams, and working on projects and lab reports. As I mostly worked with freshman, I also enjoyed providing general assistance with study techniques and time management.
Sexual Assault Prevention: During my time at Dartmouth I also had the privilege of being involved with DBI, the Dartmouth Bystander Initiative, that focused on reducing sexual assault by normalizing bystander intervention. As a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, I worked alongside fellow student-athletes to help create DBI workshops that athletic teams participate in each year. By interviewing fellow teammates and brainstorming activities and discussion topics, we developed a more tailored workshop that could be adapted to each team's needs.
Preschool Teacher's Aide and Camp Counselor: In addition to working with my peers, I love working with younger children as well. I worked part-time with 2-4 year olds at the Child Care Center in Norwich in the Fall of 2018, and continued to babysit for many of these families. I also work with high school runners at Camp Varsity Running Camp, where I have been a member of the girls staff for over 5 years. Located on Gaar Mountain in Madison, Virginia, Camp Varsity holds a very special place in my heart for the beautiful Blue Ridge scenery and amazing staff I have become family with over the years!