I was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. I completed my undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Appalachian State University before moving to New Hampshire to conduct my PhD at Dartmouth under the guidance of Amy Gladfelter. During my graduate studies, I enjoyed the hiking, biking, and skiing that the Upper Valley has to offer and immersed myself in the graduate school community (even meeting my future spouse!). At Dartmouth, I became a cell biologist interested in many biological questions and I gained expertise in light microscopy and biochemistry. For my postdoctoral studies, I was determined to change fields to address different biological questions and to develop a new set of skills. Thus, I moved to Princeton, NJ to conduct my postdoctoral fellowship with Bonnie Bassler where I studied how bacteria regulate collective behaviors. During my postdoc, I investigated the assembly and disassembly of bacterial communities, called biofilms. I honed new skills in microbiology, genetics, high-content data acquisition, and became well-versed in topics including signal transduction, quorum sensing, and multicellular biofilm communities. In the Fall of 2022, I started as an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. In my own lab, I plan to continue using a multidisciplinary approach to study bacterial systems, and I am increasingly inspired to translate basic science findings into new methods to control bacterial behavior on demand. In addition, I am motivated to establish a healthy lab culture where all inquisitive minds can thrive!