I grew up in New England and from a very early age was surrounded by nature. Living in a rural area of Connecticut, I spent my freetime going on hikes, playing in streams and swimming in lakes. It was here I discovered my love for animals in general. I would look for frogs in streams, for starfish in the tide pools, for snakes in my backyard, for bugs on my hikes and woud watch turtles lay eggs in my front yard each year! However, it was not until my junior year of college at Temple University that I decided to pursue a career in invertebrate biology. When I first went to college, I thought I wanted to be a high school biology teacher. However, during a class trip associated with my Tropical Marie Biology course I fell in love with marine invertebrates and all their quirks! I joined the Cordes Laboratory which focuses deep-sea ecology and ocean exploration.  Fast forward, I am now furthering my education by attending the  University of Miami to recieve a Masters of Professional Science in Marine Invertebrate Biology. If you have a passion for something, follow through and you never know where it will lead you!