I love words and trees. I came to linguistics in a rather roundabout way through the two. I started my undergraduate career as a forestry major. I learned about dirt, trees, bogs, and rocks; I loved it. However, I felt something was missing. I'd always loved languages and words; in fact, I'm probably one of the few people of my generation to have taken Latin in middle school. Instead of changing majors, I just added an English literature major. Increasingly drawn to older English works, I began reading books on the history of the English language and then on to linguistics as a whole. I got so engrossed in a sociolinguistics textbook that it came with me on a backpacking trip to Isle Royale! The real turning point for me was my first linguistics class during a study abroad at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland. I finally felt like I clicked in an academic discipline.

A few years and a few odd jobs later, I decided to apply to Eastern's graduate program ... and here I am! I'm finding myself increasingly drawn to documentary linguistics and taxonomies (particularily as they apply to the natural world).

I have quite a few interests outside of linguistics including playing the trombone, baking bread, hiking, playing in the dirt, riding my bicycle, reading books on folklore, painting, knitting/sewing and taming feral cats.