It seems that every Linguistics student I know has a story about how they "found" the field. Mine starts at Eastern in 2003 where I was initially a part of the Language, Literature, and Writing for Secondary Education Certification program. Having taken the required introductory courses in Linguistics, I found myself trying to sneak what I had learned into my lesson plans. I was fascinated by this new perspective on language and felt unable to reconcile teaching traditional grammar in the high school classroom with it. I changed my major one semester before I was scheduled to begin my student teaching, and it's a decision I've never regretted.
I graduated summa cum laude in December of 2006 and am now in the second year of my MA. I've recently sent out my applications to Ph.D. programs, and will hopefully begin somewhere in Fall of 2009. Currently, my interests include sociocultural linguistics (especially studies of authenticity and identity), language contact, African-American English, and second dialect acquisition.
Outside interests include vegan cooking, literature, body modification, and ritual.