Hello! I'll begin by saying a little bit about me and my background, passions, and the type of writing you can expect through this weblog.

Here it goes: I graduated with my undergraduate degree in 2009 with three majors: biology, environmental science, and religion from Central Michigan University.Throughout college, I worked in a Plant Systematics laboratory as a research assistant doing lots of cool stuff, like scanning electron microscopy, field collecting, and a variety of laboratory techniques (DNA extractions, sequencing). College was my first introduction to the real world and for the first time, I was exposed to vastness of our current ecological crises. (I was focused on a lot of other things in high school.)

After graduating, I've had the opportunity to travel and hold several random jobs. I'm originally from Michigan, though I have also lived in Louisiana's bayou-region and on the sandy beaches of the Outer Banks (OBX) in North Carolina. Shortly after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, I was hired in as a "Gulf Response" Americorps VISTA member. Living about 1.5 hours southwest of New Orleans (in a small community adjacent to the spill), I certainly experienced "bayou culture" and a rich environment that is incredibly imperiled ( . . . More