About
I am a 27-year old graduate student at The Pennsylvania State University, pursuing a PhD in Meteorology (Atmospheric Science). I’m in my 6th year of grad school at Penn State, and am a huge PSU fan. In early December 2010 I moved from State College, PA, to Gunbarrel, CO, to take a position as a Visiting Scholar/Graduate Research Assistant at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. During my time at NCAR I am still a full-time grad student at PSU.
I grew up in a small town in northwestern Wisconsin called Cumberland, and went to college in south-central Minnesota at Gustavus Adolphus College. Gustavus didn’t have a degree in Atmospheric Science (my true passion), so I majored in Physics instead, to provide me with a solid foundation for grad school and beyond. It was a difficult program, but I earned my B.A. (cum laude) from GAC in Physics in 2005. I loved my four years on “the hill.”
During the fall semester of my senior year at Gustavus, I studied abroad at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. I was there from Jul-Nov 2004, and studying abroad in Australia was one of the best decisions of my life. I also traveled in New Zealand for three weeks in Dec 2004 following my time in Australia. I loved both countries, for their people and their natural beauty. My experiences in Australia left an indelible mark on me.
I’ve been active in ministry, particularly since I got to Penn State in autumn 2005. At my church I played piano/keyboard and sang with the worship band for my last four and a half years in State College, and I also joined a week-long service trip to New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina clean-up during spring break 2007. I was also an active member in leadership of Penn State Christian Grads, a fellowship group for PSU grad students, for several years. With PSCG I also had the opportunity to go on a missions trip to Australia in Aug 2010, to investigate the feasibility of starting/partnering with grad student ministries at universities in Melbourne. It was exciting to be back in Australia, and to spend time once again with so many of my friends down there. I have friends in many places around the country and around the world, and my friends mean a great deal to me. That probably comes out in many of my blog posts.
Anyway, I started my blog several years ago to provide a forum in which to write about some of my experiences, and to highlight some of my photography of those experiences. Any of you who know me know I take my camera with me almost everywhere I go, though I try not to be too annoying with it. On my blog I try to avoid writing about mundane details of everyday life, and focus more on the things I hope others will find more “interesting.” I realize it’s probably not terribly exciting to most of you, but hopefully you at least will glance at the photos in my posts. Enjoy!
