I grew up in Humboldt County, located in northern California. I love and miss my hometown, with its pristine beaches, old-growth Redwood forests, rainy months, and environment-loving citizens.
I attended Fieldbrook Elementary School and Arcata High School, where I made life-long friends who are now engaged in everything from running political campaigns to conducting scientific research to teaching art in Spanish!
After high school, I spent 2000-2001 as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Grenoble, France. Grenoble is a beautiful town in the middle of the French Alps, and much as I missed the ocean I loved the mountains!
While abroad, I learned to ski, traveled throughout France and Europe, attended the Lycée des Eaux-Claires, lived with three fantastic host families, and met people from all over the world. Oh, and I spoke a lot of French, too.
From 2001-2005, I attended the California Institute of Techonology (Caltech), where I majored in Planetary Science.
In addition to academics, I was heavily involved in the undergraduate academic experience. I spent two years on the Academics and Research Committee (one year as the committee chair). I also worked as a campus tour guide and played on the tennis team.
During my senior year, I spent the fall of 2004 studying abroad at University College London (UCL). I took classes in astronomy, ancient Egypt, and Latin American development; did some traveling; and began rockclimbing.
Most importantly, I met my fiance, Richard Cook. Rich studies astrophysics with a focus on cosmology. He's also an accomplished drummer and (like me) loves traveling, cooking, climbing, hiking, and windsurfing (just to name a few of his hobbies!).
After I graduated in June 2005, I spent six months living and working in London. I worked for Kaplan as an instructor of the BioMedical Assessment Test (BMAT) and as an assistant for a professor of urban development and policy.
I was able to travel quite a bit during this time. My trips included Portsmouth, Lincolnshire, Bristol, the Lake District, Canterbury, Edinburgh, Paris, and Portugal.
From January to May 2006 I explored my science policy interests in Washington, D.C. I worked as an intern in the Government Affairs Program at the American Geological Institute (AGI), an umbrella for a number of professional geoscience organizations.
At AGI, I attended a number of Congressional hearings, monitored geoscience legislation, organized and attended Hill visits for scientists, and got to meet all sorts of interesting scientists, policymakers, and everyone in between.
I am currently a fourth year graduate student at Harvard where I study the sources and transport of Arctic air pollution.
In my spare time, I serve as a non-resident tutor for undergraduates in Lowell House, sing in the Harvard Radcliffe Chorus, and help organize graduate student and postdoc seminars. I also work for American Journal Experts, performing English editing of scientific articles written by non-native English speakers.
