About me

As my lovely friend, co-worker and roommate Tiffany told you in her blog post "The Scoop on the New Girl," I am, in fact, the newbie at The Brazil Times.

I've been at The Times more than a month, so it's about time that I introduce myself to the friendly people of Brazil.

I come from Springfield, Ohio, a town of about 70,000 in between Dayton and Columbus. I was born and raised in Springfield and moved to Anderson, Ind., in 2007 to start my freshman year at Anderson University.

At AU, I double majored in English literature and mass communications with a specialization in journalism. I enjoyed four excellent years at AU before graduating in 2011.

A few months after graduating, I moved to Bratislava, Slovakia, in Eastern Europe to work for an organization called Trans World Radio as a marketing and communications intern. While I was there I had the opportunity to travel during my free time and on weekends. In the three months I was there, I was able to visit Germany, Hungary, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic. It was an amazing experience, and I really enjoyed working in an international setting. I wouldn't mind living abroad again in the future.

After Slovakia, I moved to New York City to work with a missions organization called The Center for Student Missions. For the winter/spring season, I led student and church groups on week-long mission trips in the city. I spent every day of the week volunteering in soup kitchens, food pantries, children's daycare programs or somewhere similar. It was a good opportunity to stretch myself and learn more about social issues while living in one of my favorite places in the world ¬-- NYC.

When I'm not traveling or dreaming of the Big Apple, I enjoy spending time with my friends and family. My mom Debbie lives in Ohio, my sister Carrie and her new husband Jeremy live in Georgia and my brother Ryan, his wife Kathryn and their 1 year-old daughter Maddie live in Texas.

I love reading (British classics, Harry Potter, creative non-fiction, etc.) and doing creative writing of my own. I collect quotes, song lyrics and travel mementos. I have an obsession with Hobby Lobby and enjoy anything craft-related. I also love swimming and would spend an entire day in a swimming pool if I could. I love cooking and trying new recipes when time (and my budget) permits it. I have a pretty big movie collection and enjoy watching or listening to anything that makes me think a little deeper about the world.

In the future, I hope to work in publishing, write for a travel publication or work overseas in missions full-time.

That's the basics of who I am! I am excited to be in Brazil and use my degree in journalism with the Brazil Times.