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Personal History
FAMILY
I hail from the southwestern US,
where I grew up on a ranch outside of Flagstaff, AZ with my mother, father and
three older siblings. My upbringing was centered on outdoor activities, raising
livestock in a local 4-H program, barrel racing and showing horses, and learning
about natural and social processes to my heart's content. I spent many a
summer with my family traveling to different national parks such as Yosemite,
Glacier, the Grand Tetons, and Kruger for camping, hiking and similar
activities. These trips also involved helping my parents with field
research related to wildlife disease and ornithology, which instilled in me the
importance of intellectual curiosity and critical approaches to environmental
issues. I have come to appreciate and value biodiversity conservation
alongside public use and enjoyment of natural resources. My education,
time and energy have been dedicated to answering related questions about
human-environment interactions in parks and protected areas.
MUSIC
In addition to scientific pursuits, I grew up loving music. I come from a family of musicians and
have thoroughly enjoyed my involvement in the arts.
I played the flute and
piano for 13 years, five of which were spent performing in the Flagstaff Youth
Orchestra. I regularly attended music camps, played in my high school marching band
and attended a music preparatory academy for one year of high school. After
shifting from music to science during my second year of college, I became
involved in electronic music and began to deejay under the alias of
"Quintessence." For over two years, I was affiliated with the
Dirt Assasinz Embassy™
based out of Phoenix, AZ, during which time
I traveled to Las Vegas, NV and Miami, FL to attend electronic music conferences.
Although I no longer pursue deejaying on a professional basis, I still play
progressive house and trance records in my leisure time.
 SPORTS
Sports also played an important role in my life. I've been involved in various
intramural sports throughout college, though one of the more exciting
experiences was playing
outside center and
wing for the Arizona
State University Women’s Rugby
Team. As an undergraduate, I was a member of the ASU
Snowdevil's snowboard
club, a Jujitsu club, and a Capoeira grupo. In high school, I ran cross country, track,
played soccer and volleyball, and was a
member of an American Kenpo dojo for
several years. I also barrel raced for seven years with my horse, Morgan.
More recently,
I have reinvigorated
a desire to run
long-distances, and have completed two
half marathons and several shorter races.
TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
My most recent travel adventures have led me to Fiji and northeastern
Queensland, where I've spent two three-month periods exploring places like the Great Barrier Reef,
the outback and the Daintree Rainforest. I studied
abroad on two occasions in The Netherlands and Spain, and visited Belgium,
France, England, Ireland, Switzerland from July 2002-Aug 2003. I traveled to
Canada from June 2004-July 2004, Portugal from April 2005-May 2005 and Germany
in June 2005, as well as the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary in
July of 2005.
My additional travel experiences include attending a conference and participating in a safari in South Africa from June 2000-July 2000.
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