Education and Honors

I graduated from Ridgeview High School in Bakersfield, California where I received honors for academic excellence and for my teams "We the People"  debate placement within our regional competition. I did numerous activities during my high school career, including the biology club, photography club, and going camping/hiking with family and friends. I picked up wakeboarding as well and fell in love with the sport. However, due to an ankle injury, I could no longer compete competitively. 


I attended Bakersfield College in Bakersfield, California where I completed the majority of my general education from 2008 to 2010. While completing my general education, I worked one full-time and one part-time job. This experience has taught me to not only to allocate my time responsibly, but it has also refined my scheduling skills and taught me to prioritize my educational and professional needs. 


My husband and I moved to Michigan to live with family so that I could finish my Bachelor of Science degree and save money. I applied and was accepted to Grand Valley State University and completed the reminder of my coursework in April of 2014. During my attendance at Grand Valley, I was fortunate to participate in numerous programs an receive several honors and academic grants. In late 2012, I applied and was chosen to participate in the McNair Scholars Program that provides enriching experiences and prepares eligible students for doctoral study. This program funded my 2013 summer undergraduate research. The McNair Scholars Program solidified my desire to pursue a graduate degree so that I would become more prepared to study and research effective conservation and sustainability methods in aquatic ecological research.


I am currently a graduate student at Central Michigan University studying fisheries population dynamics in Lake Michigan. Specifically, I am studying the migration patterns of smallmouth bass in northern Lake Michigan and deciphering how and why they are using the available habitats. I am working the Michigan DNR to better understand the SMB habitat use. Currently, I am a Teaching Assistant for Introduction Biology. I facilitate the labs for the students and provide feedback and guidance. 


Some of the coursework that I have taken that has been proven essential to my skill set are as follows: 

  • Aquatic ecosystem management
  • Fisheries ecology
  • Population dynamics
  • multivariate statistics
  • biological statistics
  • Stream ecology
  • Limnology
  • Conservation biology
  • Phytoplankton taxonomy and ecology
  • Freshwater fisheries taxonomy and ecology
  • Freshwater entomology and ecology