A young woman with long blonde hair smiling while standing on a bridge overlooking a river, wearing a navy Columbia jacket, a scarf, and binoculars around her neck.

I want to have an impact on others just like Jane Goodall had on me. 

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Recently, a Barbie was created for the woman who inspired me to pursue my current career path. The awe-inspiring scientist, Jane Goodall, showed me that women can combine their interest in animals with their passion for research and create a respected profession. I remember reading one of her books in 9th grade; my eyes were flying across the pages, capturing word after word, while Jane Goodall explained that these chimpanzees had unique personality traits. I was astonished that these animals exhibited differences in their personality and had different roles in their communities. It was not until I read Goodall’s book that I realized I wanted to do animal related research. I'm currently on the path to obtaining a Ph.D. This will allow me to answer the question that is always lingering in the back of my brain: why?

  • I’m a PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. Mitch Weegman at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, SK, Canada. I’m studying eastern mallard population and behavioral ecology.

  • Mentorship is a HUGE passion of mine. I want to use what I’ve learned and give that knowledge to people. In high school, I was a mentor to freshmen girls my junior and senior year through the Freshmen Mentorship Program. For three semesters, I was a chemistry SI at Miami University where I helped students review concepts they had learned in class. To this day I still tutor high school and college chemistry.

  • I graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH with a Bachelors of Science in Zoology, a Bachelors of Arts in Spanish, a co-major in Neuroscience, and a minor in Statistical Methods. I worked with Dr. Paul Schaeffer in the Physiological Ecology Laboratory since freshman year, studying box turtle personality. I have also assisted graduate students in the lab completing folch assays, glycerol assays, animal surgeries/care, and mist-netting.

  • After I complete my Ph.D., I’ll start looking for Post-Docs in an area of interest (what is that? Not sure yet! Something to do with birds though). My goal is to then become a research scientist and work in a government based position.

My Background

  • A young woman wearing a pink cap and blue jacket, smiling and holding an object to her head, standing outdoors with a red car and green trees in the background.

    Mist-netting as a field technician at the University of IL (2020).

  • A woman holding a small blue and brown bird on her finger outdoors with green foliage in the background.

    Seeing the different molts/colorings on birds is my favorite part of mist netting (2021).

  • Smiling young woman with blonde hair holding a bird on her finger in a grassy field with trees in the background during daylight.

    Mist-netting at Miami University (2021).

  • A scientist wearing a face mask, gloves, and a white lab coat sitting at a lab table with a dissected bird specimen on a blue sheet, surrounded by surgical tools.

    Participating in catbird surgeries to study adipose tissue in migrating birds (2021).

  • A young woman wearing a gray Adidas cap holding a baby owl with fluffy gray feathers against a clear blue sky.

    Seagull banding in Ebro Delta, Spain (2022).

  • baby seagulls in Ebro Delta, Spain (2022)

    Baby seagulls in Ebro Delta, Spain (2022)

  • A woman giving a presentation in a conference room with a projected slide showing a bar graph and text discussing turtle repeatability.

    Turtle Personality Presentation at SICB (2023)

  • Turtle Biologging Poster at the Indiana University Animal Behavior Conference (2023).

  • Female mallard banded with a geolocator (2024)

  • Three women working on a bird in a grassy outdoor setting, with a yellow toolbox containing various tools nearby.

    Working with RI waterfowl biologist, Jennifer Kilburn, to attach radio transmitters to female mallards (2024)

  • A woman wearing a beige knit hat and a black jacket, smiling while holding a duck with a blue glove, outdoors on a cloudy day.

    Mallard duck banding (2024)

  • A group of people in winter gear conducting fieldwork at a snowy riverbank, with equipment and containers nearby.

    NY mallard and black duck banding (2025)

  • Group of five people conducting field research outdoors near a pond, with scientific equipment, notebooks, and cages for animals.

    Goose banding in NJ (2025)

  • Woman speaking at a conference or seminar with a microphone, wearing headphones, in front of a screen displaying logos of Canadian government agencies and a presentation slide with text.

    The Wildlife Society (Edmonton) - Presentation on PhD Research (2025)