Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, I didn’t have scientists for role models. In fact, I’m the first woman in my family to get a college degree, much less become a scientist.

I attended underfunded public schools where we didn’t have science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education beyond required state minimums.

For the first eight years of my life I lived with my grandmother, who instilled in me a love of learning. We read all the time. I brought extra worksheets home from school and worked on them just for fun. My Nanna always told me that I could achieve anything I set my mind to, and today, I’m proud to be a scientist at NIST.

That’s why it’s important to me to connect with young students so they know that they don’t have to limit their dreams to what they see around them.

My journey to NIST

That’s not to say my educational and career journey was an easy one; it certainly wasn’t. I worked full-time at a car dealership while attending college part-time. It took me seven years to complete my undergraduate degree.

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