I am a scientist-turned-communicator passionate about crafting captivating, accurate, and easy-to-understand narratives that make science accessible to all.

I’ve had a lifelong interest in science and obtained my master’s degree in precision livestock management, a niche field at the intersection of reproductive biology, animal behavior, agricultural engineering, bioinformatics and computer science.

But my foray into journalism started even earlier, at the ripe age of 12. I entered an annual guest columnist contest sponsored by my local newspaper and was selected as one of five winners - the youngest ever in the publication’s history. I contributed an opinion article every five weeks for six months and was subsequently offered a contract extension. Three years later I transitioned to writing a teen lifestyle column with the same paper, a gig I continued through college.

After graduating from the University of Illinois with my Bachelor’s in Animal Science, I worked various research jobs while creating my own opportunities for science writing. In 2022 I returned to Illinois for my master’s degree and was thrilled to find many opportunities to grow my science writing skills, including science journalism classes and a paid position as a part-time science writer for the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

Although I no longer work behind the bench (or the cattle chute), I enjoy partnering with subject-matter experts in a variety of scientific disciplines to learn more about their research and communicate these developments to the public.

More than anything, I love that science forces us to challenge and advance our existing beliefs, and demystifying that process is truly my dream job.