SFS Australia was my final term to finish my BA in Environmental Science at Lawrence University. After graduation, I moved to Eugene, OR and spent a year volunteering for a watershed council through Americorps before going back to school. I went on to get Master’s degrees in Community and Regional Planning and Geography, then a PhD in Geography. My dissertation work was on culture and migration focusing on the formation of social networks after arriving in the US.

I now work in IT supporting the GIS systems for a forestry company. We use those systems to ensure healthy forests that are managed in an environmentally friendly way. I get to work on some pretty cool technology, such as using AI and aerial photography to identify seedlings and monitor their health, using drones to identify damaged trees from wildfires or ice storms.

Favorite SFS Memories: Chilling in the park watching the platypus in Yungaburra and diving the great barrier reef.