OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Participating in outreach events has been a highlight of my graduate career. In the summer of 2022, I designed an outreach event for middle schoolers with the goal of demonstrating: microbes are everywhere! This gave the students their first hands-on experience designing an experiment and examining self-collected data. I hope to publish this activity soon, making it publicly available. So, stay tuned!
In addition, I helped found Nerd Nite Reno; a free monthly lecture series open to the public where speakers give TED-style talks about nerdy topics. Although Nerd Nite started as a place to share whimsical ideas, we try to reach speakers who are dedicated to building a strong Reno community, including informal science educators, art and museum directors, and social activists. Watching the event grow and take on a life of its own with the Reno community has made all the work establishing the event worthwhile.
MY STORY
My science career started with my undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas. It was there that I gained some hands-on experience studying bees in a restoration context. Tromping around remote tallgrass prairies observing plant-pollinator interactions, I caught the bug. I knew I wanted to continue working to understand the natural world and the complex relationships that contribute to its diversity and beauty. From Kansas, I made a long and arduous journey all the way to Nebraska for my Master’s where I spent a few years studying plant community ecology but throughout these experiences, I found I had different questions buzzing in my brain. I was determined to work with pollinators yet again. I moved to Reno to start my PhD where I jumped right in to learning (along with the bees) about bees' cognition. Since this time, I have crossed continents and studied bees from the scale of individual neurons to whole populations moving across landscapes. Every new project feels like opening a door into a world that didn’t exist until I stepped into it. There's always so much to learn, but the adventure is what keeps me coming back.
In my free time, I continue spending too much time outside. Whether I'm climbing, camping, swimming in an alpine lake, or earning some gnarly sunburns, my favorite way to spend time is exploring the natural world.