|
I was homeschooled for the majority of my elementary and high school education, before attending community college for 3 years (2009-2012). I then transferred to Stanford University to complete my Bachelor's degree in Biology (2012-2014). Since many of the lower level degree requirements had been satisfied by my community college courses, I was able to focus my time on upper level plant biology and soil biogeochemistry courses and complete a summer of undergraduate research with Dr Sharon Long. Since I found enjoyment in fundamental research and exploring organism interactions and didn't really know what else I could do with my Bachelor's degree, I decided to pursue a PhD in Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at Michigan State University (2014-2020) under the mentorship of Dr. Gregory Bonito. My dissertation research aimed to resolve the phylogeny of soil fungi in the Mortierellaceae, characterize the chemical and genetic basis of plant growth promotion by Mortierella elongata, and to establish a transformation system for M. elongata.
|
|
To my dismay, I realized pretty quickly (like, 2 years into my 6 year long program...) that I definitely did not want to be a professional microbiologist or professor. The little scientific breakthroughs were exciting and interesting, but they just were not a tangible reward to me. I really didn't feel like my discoveries were going to meaningfully help people in my lifetime. I did, however, find that my teaching experiences were very immediately rewarding! But also extremely draining to my rather introverted self. I wasn't sure how I would survive a career in education until my 4th year, when I discovered that there was a "behind the scenes" for teaching: curriculum development & instructional design! I have found instructional design both a creative outlet and a very rewarding means of helping people. Towards that end, I completed the MSU Teaching Certification Program, participating in pedagogy courses and workshops, and practicing science communication in writing and presentations. I particularly loved the Mentored Teaching Project I completed with Dr. Ashley Shade (report currently in preparation for publication).
|
|
After graduating with my PhD (May 2020), I secured my current position: a 2yr postdoctoral position (Aug 2020-2022) as a Curriculum Development Specialist with MSU's IT department on the Instructional Technology & Development team. I started in this role at the height of faculty preparation for online instruction & rapidly learned how to support, train, & troubleshoot the most commonly used instructional technologies. I work with faculty, teaching assistants, and academic staff in individual consultations and facilitate training sessions on technology selection, usage, and best practices. Since September of 2020, our team has presented almost 80 training sessions to over 2600 total registrants (~1200 unique people).
This portfolio began with a set of deliverables for the MSU CCTP, which was then adapted to be a professional site to showcase my work samples and educational design philosophies. It is currently being expanded to include a set of deliverables for the Instructional Design and Technology MicroMasters program offered through EdX and the University of Maryland (expected program completion 05/2022). This site and its menu structure may evolve a few times throughout the program, so please forgive placeholder pages and obviously incomplete content!
I spend my free time cooking, rock climbing, entertaining my cats, and exploring life with my partner.
This portfolio began with a set of deliverables for the MSU CCTP, which was then adapted to be a professional site to showcase my work samples and educational design philosophies. It is currently being expanded to include a set of deliverables for the Instructional Design and Technology MicroMasters program offered through EdX and the University of Maryland (expected program completion 05/2022). This site and its menu structure may evolve a few times throughout the program, so please forgive placeholder pages and obviously incomplete content!
I spend my free time cooking, rock climbing, entertaining my cats, and exploring life with my partner.