Hello everyone! I am a Wolverine from Michigan, starting a new adventure in Seattle. I grew up in Okemos, MI (next-door to MSU), but I was a bit of a traitor and went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for undergrad.  I was a Cell and Molecular Biology major, but took frequent study breaks to play every IM sport imaginable.  I was also on the board of Project Serve, which was a student run community service and social action group.  This sparked my interest in being an advocate for underserved populations.

I took a year off before medical school to work as a research technician at MGH in Boston.  It was an amazing experience, and it helped me to realize that, while I did love my rats, I wanted to work with people for my career.  After my 'year off', I returned to UofM for Medical School.  The UofM, Ann Arbor, and nearby Detroit offered great opportunities to get involved with the community. One of my favorites was organizing snow shoveling groups for seniors in the area (we definitely had no lack of snow!).  I was also able to work with some amazing family medicine physicians, who wore many different hats.  It was fun to see how many different opportunities there are for family practitioners, and the huge need for them as well! This made my decision to go into family medicine quite easy, and it got me very excited about my own career.

I hope to work with underserved populations at the individual, community, and policy levels. Some of my other career interests include sports and wilderness medicine.  These interests are driven by my love for the outdoors, including doing just about any type of outdoor activity you could think of....except for hunting.   I am so excited to be starting my new life in Seattle, and at Swedish First Hill! I have a good feeling that I will be overwhelmed with opportunities to fulfill all of my career and personal goals.