New Jersey born and raised, I’ve spent 24 of my 25 years on this Earth as a New Jersey resident. Growing up “down the shore” (a phrase the locals grind their teeth at), my life has always been heavily influenced by the water. Until college, however, it was just a way of life and not a career path for me. I had no idea what Oceanography was and never even took an Earth Science course until college.
I started out at Boston University as a French major, fully intending to become a French teacher. However, one day into class freshman year, my Intro Oceanography class that I took on a whim had completely changed my mind. I switched majors that day and haven’t looked back since. While we didn’t have an Oceanography program or degree, it fell under a broader department of Earth Science, which is why Geology has also become a large part of my interests. I quickly became intrigued by beaches and coastlines and have continued to follow that path, minus a brief period where I studied diurnal fish migration in the Turks and Caicos Islands for my senior research project. The girl that used to snicker at the students who wished for a rock collection as a Christmas gift now has more bottles of sand and piles of rocks than she knows what to do with, and a story to go with each one. I’m just intrigued by sand and beach-worn cobbles.

I may have fought to get out of the Garden State, but it ended up that IMCS was a perfect match for me. I now study coastal geomorphology on human-altered coastlines, and the processes involved in their evolution. One month into my Rutgers career, I got to go into the field with my advisor and was again in the field six months after that. I am not the type of person that is content working in a lab all day, so this was great! I got to be outside on the beach every day, albeit in less than desirable weather, observing the landscape and better understanding how it can evolve on short timescales. I spent my first two years at Rutgers working on this project in Avalon, NJ. Here, I studied the morphology of the backshore and dunes and sediment transport across these environments. I also looked at how these processes and end results were affected by the management practices of fencing the dunes and raking the beach platform. This project has recently come to a close, and I will spend the remainder of my student career focusing on my dissertation topic. For this, I will be conducting my field research at an estuarine beach of Great South Bay on Fire Island, NY. While I have not yet pinned down my exact topic, I know that I would like to focus on sediment transport on the low tide terrace, transformation of sandbars, and sediment exchanges both cross-shore and alongshore. I look forward to moving into the water and getting my feet wet after having spent the last couple years above the high tide line.

I also have more than enough hobbies to keep me busy outside of school. I knit every second that my hands are free, run as much as I can handle, and sail my boat whenever I get the chance. I also enjoy hiking with my two dogs, diving, kayaking, baking, cycling, and anything that gets me outside. It’s my dream to someday go to New Zealand, sail the eastern seaboard down to the Caribbean, and hike across Ireland.