I was born and raised in a small town in central Wisconsin where my father and grandfather still run the family farm raising cattle. I may not look the part anymore, but I've been driving tractors, milking cows, and birthing calves for more of my life than I've been pipetting at the bench. I graduated with my Bachelor's of Science in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, and I taught middle and high school science in rural Wisconsin at Iola-Scandinavia Middle and High School. Before applying for graduate school, I took a few more classes at Stevens Point to finish up a Biochemistry degree before applying and being accepted into the Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate program at the University of Illinois where I've been since the summer of 2017.