it's me!
I was raised mostly in Vancouver, Washington, across the river from the wonderful Portland, OR. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Digital Technology and Culture at Washington State University in Pullman. By the time I found DTC, I felt like I was just beginning to learn; the real kind of learning, that sparks your soul. The kind you want to embrace and follow through. By the time I graduated I'd made the decision to stay at WSU to get my Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Composition, under the advisement of Kristin L. Arola.
It was at WSU, specifically at the end of my BA and all throughout my MA, that I began to focus more intently on how new media co-create culture. I also discovered that I loved teaching (I'll never forget my Fall 2008 10 am class. They drove me to continue my education.) Armed with my two degrees, I sought out a doctoral program that would let me use what I had (barely) touched upon in my BA and had further explored in my MA. And it was so, when I discovered the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
I now study the ways that young women use social media and other new technologies to: construct identities in mediated spaces; form communities with others across the globe; and use new media as a site for activist work. Feminist theory and cultural studies are the lenses I use to engage this work. You can find more detailed information by clicking on Research over on the left.
I absolutely, positively love living in Raleigh. It is a fast-growing cultural hub with a strong local music scene, a respect for emerging artistic and scientific endeavors, outstanding restaurants, and a sense of general kindness and intelligence that permeates throughout the city.
I also love eating (sushi and vegan food), I buy too much makeup and too many shoes, and I waste a lot of time contemplating how long until I finally kill my ZZ plant.
