I was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland. Growing up I was interested in photography (courtesy of my dad), painting and drawing, reading adventure tales, creating miniature play sets for my toys, and watching my favorite movies. I was especially obsessed with animated Disney flicks when I was a kid. Of course back then, I didn't really understand how they were made, but I thought that films were the coolest things on the planet! I would always get wrapped up in the characters and their stories, what kinds of adventures they had, and how I could live vicariously through them- kiddie soap operas.

When I was a bit older, my parents bought our first family computer. Around the same time, Toy Story was released in theaters, so both events sparked my interest in experimenting with computer animation. My first attempt at this came in the form of an assignment for English class. We were supposed to create an advertisement, and I wanted mine to move! It would be a teaser trailer that advertised an upcoming film, starring Julia Roberts and involving an underseas murder mystery! (It sounded like a good idea at the time.) I didn't know a lick about professional animation software, but I did know that our computer could make PowerPoint slideshows. So I drew each frame and imported them into PowerPoint as slides. (One frame equaled one slide.) The resulting animation was as slow as molasses and looked horrible by today's standards. But it was loads of fun and the start of something great! I was learning about animation.

After that English assignment, I began formal art training with photography and drawing classes and started entering artwork into local competitions and galleries. I further pursued the arts in college, attaining a Bachelor of Arts in Animation and Photography from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Photography remains a passion of mine, and in 2007 and 2008 I was fortunate to have my work honored in the Pilsner Urquell International Photography Competition.

Since college, I've gone on to work as a freelance Graphic Designer for wedding photographers in the Baltimore-Washington region. I also work as a Media Developer for the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, producing time-based media and photographs for scientific publications, presentations, and international conferences. This work lead me to the 2008 SIGGRAPH Convention in Los Angeles, where I discovered AnimationMentor, an online school that teaches character animation to aspiring artists. I currently attend AnimationMentor, and am learning from some of the best industry professionals. One day I hope to follow in their footsteps and pursue my dream of creating memorable film characters.

I feel incredibly lucky to have entered into a career path that is both amazingly fun and creative. My mentors, friends, and family have been greatly supportive and are an important source of inspiration for me. They've helped me through countless art projects and have cheered me on as I continue throughout this journey. Thank you! <3