Fun Facts

I absolutely love to travel. Since I was seventeen, I have lived in France, China, the United Kingdom and Kenya and have traveled extensively to Central and South America, Europe and Africa. It's fascinating to me to learn about new cultures. I am also an avid runner and am training for my third marathon: The New York City Marathon. I am also a great cook and baker and am currently learning how to sew my own clothes.

About Me

I am a graduate student at maryland/columbia">columbia">maryland/columbia">columbia-university">maryland/columbia">columbia">maryland/columbia">Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, attending school on a merit-based scholarship. I obtained my undergraduate degree from the washington">University of Washington in economics and journalism in 2010 and since then have worked as professional journalist in the U.S. and Africa where I covered a range of topics from finance to earth science. My hometown is Fort Worth and I am very pleased to be here after so much time away.

As an undergraduate I worked as a volunteer tutoring Somali refugees, which was a great challenge. Their English language skills were minimal and most of them had attended sub-standard schools in the refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, so they were ill-prepared to be thrown to into the U.S. school system. Additionally, I tutored fellow students when I was in high school, focusing on English and math homework assignments and ACT/SAT prep.

My philosophy is to lead students to the right answer by asking them questions about what they already know. I believe this approach gives students confidence in their own knowledge and abilities and reinforces what they have already learned. I am eager to help those who are struggling because there were many time I struggled during my own education and relied heavily on those who dedicated their time to help me achieve my academic goals. I am particularly keen on helping students improve their writing abilities, since it's a cornerstone to all fields of educations and many careers.