I am an author, lifelong learner, and photographer. On my days off, you can usually find my outside with my camera, enjoying the beauty of the natural world.

History

Ask me where I am from, and I will tell you I am a Phoenician. I have spent three-quarters of my life in the Phoenix area. Growing up, I lived in Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Mesa, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, and Tempe. I took a 13-year detour to Las Vegas, Nevada, and now I am back home in Phoenix.

Education

I started my higher education learning 13 years after graduating high school.

At first, I wanted to be a school psychologist, and so I earned an Associate’s of General Studies in psychology at a community college.

After some classes at the community college, I transferred to a university and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. Funny enough, I earned my associates degree after my first bachelor’s.

As I finished my sociology degree, I enrolled in a Master’s program for organizational leadership, with the idea that I would be a useful addition to any organization, small or large.

After finishing my first master’s degree, I found that the university where I earned my first bachelor’s and master’s degrees did not have an online doctoral degree program that I was interested in. By this time, I had moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, and had learned to SCUBA dive. Because I am an avid reader, and an insatiable consumer of knowledge, I read everything I could get my hands on about SCUBA.

In the course of all my reading, I kept learning about what one can see while breathing underwater. While I find shipwrecks interesting, the fact that whole cities exist underwater is fascinating! I started asking, at what point did the people who lived there think that the rising water was just a flood, and at what point did they decide to move? I had decided my next degree would be in maritime archaeology.

Because the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was essentially in my backyard, I researched their archaeology doctoral programs. While they do not teach maritime archaeology, they do teach land-based archaeology. In researching requirements for applying to their graduate program, I saw that the department recommended a certain number of upper division anthropology credits at the undergraduate level. To qualify to attend these upper division courses, one must have earned a passing grade in the prerequisite, core courses.

By the time I completed the prerequisite lower division and the recommended upper division courses, I would only need an additional 2 or 3 courses to earn a second bachelor’s degree, which I did.

UNLV has a bridge program where you apply to the doctoral program and earn a master’s degree along the way. Toward the end of my anthropology master’s program, I discussed my updated career goals with my advisor. Together, we agreed to terminate the program after earning my second master of arts degree.

In the course of earning all these degrees, I found a love of museum work and realized that my career trajectory was museum-focused, rather than teaching at the post-secondary level.

To be even more desirable as a candidate in the museum and non-profit industries, I earned a third master of arts degree in Arts Administration.

Photography

While I played around with point-and-shoot cameras before, I picked up a DSLR camera in 2017. I learned many aspects of light, composition, and color from my friend and mentor.

I carry my camera almost everywhere I go and I love to find interesting viewpoints to capture. I enjoy night photography, landscapes, street photography, and flowers. I am enjoying learning the arts of macro photography and people in motion.

Follow my blog to see my latest favorite photos.