About me

My Family

Where I am from

I grew up in Northwest Indiana. Hometown I consider Crown Point, Indiana. I have worked for many local businesses throughout the NWI region, but most notably Steamwhistle Coffee Roasters to whom I owe a big debt of thanks too for how much opportunities and community connection it gave me! I have now been involved with many other local businesses, events and such due to this one job. 

Many local parks, as well as the Indiana Dunes National and State parks have shaped me into who I am today. Their diversity and accessibility was pivotal into my becoming a mycologist!

Educational Journey

I graduated in May of 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Indiana University Northwest. I also achieved two minors, one in chemistry and the other in geology.

As much as I always planned on being a biology major, my focus did shift. I entered my undergraduate in August of 2016 believing I was going to become a biomedical researcher. I left my undergraduate career in May of 2020 now deciding to become a Mycologist and pursue more education to do so. What a shift. This change of heart did come so easily and took many months for me to find my passion.

It came quickly I was not going to enjoy being a medical researcher. There was many a semester spent aimlessly studying and feeling directionless and what I wanted to pursue. It was even contemplated by myself whether I should switch to a geology major after being just about halfway through my biology degree and having to take an extra year. In the Fall of 2018, I was enrolled in a Mycology course. At the time, it was out of requirement, and only slight intrigue, that I took the course. I was, after all, a self-diagnosed mushroom hater. 

Yet, even a mushroom hater can be cured. And I had been. I found what would become my life's passion on a rotting log while on a hike contemplating what I was doing with my life. It was "Chicken of the Woods", also known as Laetiporus sulphureus. I had just learned about it in class the day prior. I learned that it had a texture and taste that was comparable to chicken. Curiousity got the better of me, and I cannot be more thankful it did. I loved the "Chicken of the Woods" Nuggets I had made.

Since then, I had discovered my passion for mushroom cultivation and sustainable agriculture, which lands me to what I study now at Michigan State University: Morel Cultivation and Lifecycle, and The Microbiome of Prolonged Management Regimes on Agricultural Microbiomes.

Hobbies and freetime
Click any for little blog posts, recipes or ramblings of mine!