I do research in community, aquatic, stream, and fish ecology at the University of Oklahoma (OU).
I really enjoy outdoor activities including fishing, hiking, swimming, and sailing. I think my enjoyment of the outdoors, and my general intense curiosity led me to reseach as a career.
I was born in Peoria, Illinois in 1973, but I soon moved to Miami, Florida with my family where I spent the majority of my life. I loved visiting the Everglades and the ocean, which probably sparked my interest in ecosystems. In college, I got my first taste of what a career in science was like. When I was working on my bachelors degree, I applied to work for a professor (basically I just wanted a job) who was studying fish. I helped him do research for 2 years and it turned out that I really enjoyed the field, so I decided to try to make a career of it. Since then, I have been doing my own research.