I was born and raised in Salem, Oregon and completed
my undergrad at Oregon State University with a double major in
Psychology and New Media Communications. While at OSU I fostered a
unique interest in the intersection between human cognition and
virtual reality. I had the privilege of collaborating on several
projects exploring this space, including work as a 3D modeler and
Research Assistant for the Cognition and Action in Real and Virtual
Environments (CARVE) Lab.
After graduating from OSU in Spring of 2020 I decided to pursue
further education in the HCI field by enrolling in the MHCI program
at Carnegie Mellon University. While at CMU I took several HCI-focused
courses tailored to increase my skills in research, design and programming. I developed familiarity with rapid prototyping and user testing,
made use of many user research techniques including contextual inquiry and storyboarding In addition I worked as a research assistant in the CMU
OH! Lab and served as lead researcher on an MCHI Capstone team. I graduated from CMU in the summer of 2021.