Born and raised in Houston, I received my BA in History at Texas A&M. Although I always knew I would eventually earn a graduate degree in history, during senior year things began aligning towards an opportunity to enter a Masters' program immediately and I decided to take it. During a conversation with one of my professors I discussed how many parts of traditional academia were unappealing to me despite how much I enjoyed researching and teaching history. My professor suggested I investigate Public History, which I didn't know existed, and recommended the University of Houston's program. It was exactly what I was looking for and within a few months I submitted my application.

My coursework covered a wonderful variety of traditional reading seminars and practical, skills focused humanities courses. Through my coursework I was taught cutting edge digital humanities techniques, how to write and submit proposals and grants, how to interpret artifacts and historical sites, and how to put communities and people first. I also had the opportunity to focus my degree through internship hours with the City of Houston Preservation Office thanks to my classmate Caitlyn Jones. Through this experience I discovered preservation planning was a unique intersection between my Public History education, skills, focus area in the History of American Cities in the 20th Century, and interests in urban planning.

 Thanks to the numerous skills and internship experience acquired during my study at the University of Houston I was offered a job at a multi-service architecture firm, Page & Turnbull in San Francisco, as an Architectural Historian/Cultural Resources Planner.

My final project, creating, submitting, and presenting a Protected Landmark Nomination before the Houston Archeological and Historic Commission, headlined my resume alongside my technical experience acquired during my internship. However, my strong well-rounded education in community-oriented interpretation and digital humanities pushed me to the front of the pack. I am already drawing on many of my classes' core themes and skills in my first month, and it is undoubtedly due to the curriculum, efforts and support of my professors that my career is already off to such a great start.