Until entering graduate school I spent my entire life in Maryland, just outside Washington DC. Introduced to the sciences at an early age, I majored in zoology at the University of Maryland with a minor in English and a pseudo-minor in Fine Arts. My first major research experience consisted of an independent research project on the phylogeny of the Hawaiian cricket Laupala. In graduate school I have decided to continue research in the field of evolution and ecology. I'm currently working on a project involving hybridization and speciation in common butterfly species. I'm particularly interested in hybridization patterns and inexplicably low hybrid relative abundance in Colias eurytheme in the Sierra Nevada. Colias eurytheme and Colias eriphyle are able to hybridize in areas of sympatry (east of the Sierran crest), but they maintain visibly low hybridization rates. I want to explore this system further, especially on a molecular level. Outside of research, my interests include teaching, literature, modern art, hiking, knitting, and felines.