I grew up on a farm in a small town in Pennsylvania. I had a rock collection. I stargazed and bird-watched and camped. I've always been surrounded by the beauty and beast of nature. My fascination with the beast– particularly volcanoes– was founded in elementary school upon viewing the film Nim’s Island.  It is fitting that a piece of art was my gateway into the world of volcanoes, as the arts were and continue to be a huge part of my life. I started writing songs and poems as soon as I learned how to write, and have cultivated this love as I learn more about my craft everyday.  I have work-shopped and performed these songs at various events throughout the years. Though I grew to love performing, and getting to play at being someone I am not, I am an introvert at heart, and the idea of living on a deserted island, studying a volcano, really appealed to me and ignited imaginative dreams of my future. This may seem a naïve reason to pursue any career path, but this dream lingered in the background of my mind even as I learned to sing, act, and dance. I do believe that ideas that pop into our minds during formative years can be some of the most powerful thoughts we hold far into adulthood. Then, at the age of 17, I was faced with a decision: rocks or music? I felt prepared to let my passion for nature fade into a hobby. I was accepted into several engineering and geoscience programs, and it came down to the University of Miami, where I would potentially double major in musical theatre and geology, and The Catholic University of America, where you will see I received my Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre, a Minor in Mathematics, and fulfilled a Liberal Arts Honors Track. 

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Post-graduation, I performed on Washington, D.C. stages, I played the keyboard and sang in bands at amusement parks and in bars, I directed the musical at my high school alma mater. I was a working artist. With the shut down of the entertainment industry in March 2020, I had much time to think, some might even posture “too much,” and I quite literally moved out to sea. 

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Living on the boat, sailing my way down the Intracoastal Waterway, I witnessed water, wind, and earth working together. I read about the scientific intricacies of eruptions as well as the tragedies endured by communities in their aftermath. I was reminded that the eruptions from the volcanoes I had once found to be so intriguing had cost so many lives and livelihoods. I was moved to better understand these events, and likewise determined to educate and warn neighboring communities of these possible disasters. To predict these natural disasters, I needed to better understand our planet’s workings. I needed to go back to school. 

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I attended the College of Charleston as a non-degree student where I engaged in scientific coursework. I reached out to graduate schools intent on pursuing a masters in geological sciences, and I was incredibly lucky to find Dr. Guoqing Lin. I came to her with determination, passion, a big picture, and how I wanted my research to impact the world, and she raised me a set of tools and guidance that would help me get there. She deftly gave me papers about this seismological technique, “ambient noise correlation,” and I knew I was in the right place. I have found a great interest in seismology, and I plan to continue exploring the parameters of earthquakes that take place within volcanoes, particularly leading up to volcanic eruptions. I hope to eventually work on the forecasting of these events. My big picture. 

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While I study these incredibly interesting things and life moves on after the pandemic, I still desire to engage in music and telling stories. I hope someday to combine these two passions and what feel like almost separate lives into one project, one trajectory, but for now I continue to work at them separately. And so, I will continue my graduate studies in geophysics and simultaneously continue to pursue my love of music and performance.

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