I am a third-year medical student at Rocky Vista University in Colorado. My Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology is from the University of Florida with a minor in Health Disparities. I conducted community-based research in ethnoarchaeology and ultimately specialized in medical anthropology. While at UF I worked as a research assistant in the Department of Psychology focusing on behavioral medicine.
After graduation, I began exploring a career in healthcare. I worked as an emergency department medical scribe at a level-1 trauma center in South Florida, solidifying my desire to attend medical school.
In 2015 I began a pre-medical post-baccalaureate program at the University of North Florida. While in Jacksonville, I worked as an emergency department medical scribe at UF Health. I also volunteered at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic and worked as a teaching assistant in Plant Biology.
When my boyfriend (now husband) was accepted to Rocky Vista University for medical school, I applied to graduate programs in Colorado. We moved across the country in 2017 with our dog, Finnegan and a dream. I earned my Master of Biomedical Science at RVU in 2018.
After grad school, I adopted a puppy (Frida) and worked as a medical/surgical assistant in dermatology and skin surgery. I eventually became the clinic’s Training and Project Coordinator and developed an internal curriculum for medical and surgical assistants.
Throughout my clinical work experience in the emergency department and in dermatology, I became fascinated by the dynamic interplay between medical conditions and their impact on patients’ mental health.
My specialty interests include community psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, and interventional treatment modalities for psychiatric illness.
When I’m not studying I love to get my hands dirty in the garden. I grow dozens of varieties of flowers and am getting more skilled with fruits and vegetables. In my spare time I volunteer with OASIS, a non-profit organization that helps develop low-water gardens full of native plants to support local ecosystems and pollinators. I donate my surplus produce to local charities and share my love of gardening with my medical school community by giving away seedlings each Spring.
