Tell me a little about yourself.
I am originally from Denver, Colorado and I go to school at Wesleyan, which is a small liberal arts college in Connecticut. While in college my parents moved to San Francisco. I'm enjoying exploring San Francisco, but Denver is definitely still home. I have three dogs: Scarlett is a yellow lab and she's 13, Olivia is a corgi and she's 6, and Sadie is a spaniel who is 2. I really like listening to music and creating playlists. I like most music except for country and metal. I really like basketball — I like the NBA and the Nuggets. I also like to play basketball for fun, e.g., intramural and pickup games.
How did you get interested in astronomy?
I primarily got into astronomy after my freshman year. My first class I took at Wesleyan with Meredith Hughes and I thought she was the best teacher ever. She really inspired me with her enthusiasm for astronomy; her ways of thinking about astronomy inspired me to have my own interests in astronomy. I haven't always been into astronomy though. As a child, I didn't look through a telescope. That didn’t happen until college, so I guess I'm kind of a late bloomer.
What is your favorite part about Copenhagen? DAWN?
I like the light. It's light outside all of the time. That's the starkest difference compared to where I'm from. I assume there is a balance to that in the winter. Within the city every day there is such a nice vibe. The other day we played basketball until 10pm because we didn't notice it was so late (the light!).
I really like how the DAWN team is built. It feels like a home grown community that came from simple beginnings, but that a lot of people here have bought into it. Everyone seems really interested in the common science goal of understanding the first galaxies.
What motivated you to apply to an international REU?
I always wanted to study abroad because I really love traveling and also I have an older brother who did 2 semesters abroad and had a great time. That inspired me. But I found that during the semesters it's not as easy and I like being around my friends. So when I found a summer opportunity of doing research abroad, it became my top choice.
Can you tell me about your summer research project?
This summer I am working with Francesca Rizzo on seeing the effectiveness of [CII] as a potential tracer for molecular gas in high redshift galaxies. We are playing around with that idea in a couple of different scenarios. We are also exploring [CII]'s roles in galaxies in general (e.g., atomic gas and other emission line tracers).
What skills and knowledge would you like to acquire this summer?
The number one skill it would be really beneficial to get is to be better at python. I have a good amount of practical intro because my courses at school have had that as an emphasis. But more practice would be great. I'm also realizing that the professional development side of things is important. Being able to interact with other scientists is vital.
If you could have any superpower what would it be?
The ability to stop time for 30 minutes at a time. You shouldn't be able to stop it forever, that would be too weird for your psychological state. I'm always trying to do so much so that would take away a lot of stress.