With a resume that ranges from working as a kitchen hand, farm hand, to biology, I enjoy working on projects connected to food and native pollinators.  I love food.  Food to me means comfort and brings communities together.  Native pollinators are important and contribute to our economy through pollination of important food crops.  My graduate work addressed improvements to rearing practices of bumble bee queens in the lab and commercial settings, particularly in improving winter survival.  With success in storing overwintering queens, my research can aid reintroduction programs for declining Bombus species and has implications for improving commercial production of bumble bees. I want to develop an efficient protocol to store mated bumble bee queens in long term cold storage to reduce overwintering mortality.  By reducing the mortality of bumble bees, we are able to continue to maintain an affordable and diverse diet.

 

I received two bachelors degrees, Animal Science and Biology, I now am pursuing a Masters in Science at Utah State University with guidance from Dr. Karen Kapheim and Dr. James Strange.  

 

Outside of science, I am advocate for inclusion and promoting awareness, I’ve been awarded two University legacy awards, awards for promoting inclusion in my local community, and overseas awards for serving the military. 

 

As a proud first generation Master’s student, my roots lie in my heritage, science and advocacy.  This is me all summed up in a dim sum steamed bun.  If you would like to know more, check out my CV