I am currently pursuing a Master’s in Educational Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (MEITE) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an expected graduation in August 2023. This past year, I’ve taken courses in learning sciences, human-centered design, innovation and prototyping, learning analytics, statistics using R, and education policy and research.
I spent this year working for the City of Raleigh Municipal Government in their Office of Strategy and Innovation. I assisted in creating, launching, and collecting data on a city-wide professional development course. I utilized instructional design principles and human-centered design to structure the course.
I received a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from Davidson College in North Carolina in May 2020 and spent the past two years working at EAB, an education technology and research firm based in Washington, D.C., on their K-12 research marketing team. In this role, I developed webinars and campaigns to showcase EAB’s research on teacher morale and advertise EAB’s K-12 advisory services to public school district superintendents.
While at Davidson, I took multiple writing courses that explored the impact of narrative development on memory, agency, and community-building, as well as courses in the digital humanities to learn about and create platforms for digital storytelling. I co-created a website that exhibited research on the benefits of intergenerational relationships and interactive stories about these relationships within the Davidson community, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, I wrote an honors thesis my Senior year at Davidson that explored perceptions of memory and identity through my relationship with my autistic brother juxtaposed with research about intellectual and physical disabilities, the politics of representation, and excerpts from the autism community.
At the heart of my interest in the humanities is the idea that writing and the articulation of ideas is a form of agency. Understanding that there are multitudinous barriers for access to quality, personalized reading and writing instruction, and that writing might not be an accessible form of expression and communication for different communities, I became interested in the ways in which we can use technology to help facilitate expression and communication in an increasingly connected society.
I worked as a middle and high school mentor for 3 years while at Davidson and was a reading and writing tutor while in D.C. I currently work at an inclusive coffee shop in Chapel Hill and as a Direct Support Professional for adults with intellectual and development disabilities in the Research Triangle area which blends my interests of community building and supporting individuals with IDD.
A few more things about me: my favorite genres to both read and write are fiction, creative non-fiction, and memoir; I am fascinated by personal memory and how it creates individual realities; my favorite number is 73; I love looking at maps of cities; my preferred mode of transportation is walking; I still mail letters to my friends; my favorite activities are running, hiking, and skiing; time passes fastest for me when I’m on the phone or looking at old photos.