About Me

    My Peace Corps career began in the fall of 2010 when I was assigned to be a Community Health Agent in Niger.  I trained from October to December in the town of Hamdallaye with forty of the best friends I could ever hope to have.  In January, 2011 I arrived in my site, a small village near the Niger River called Gala Beri.  Unfortunately, Peace Corps was forced to evacuate Niger on January 17 due to security concerns.  Niger was one of the defining experiences of my life, and I will never forget the land or its people.

    I grew up in the rural community of Clarke County, Virginia, nestled in the northern Shenandoah Valley.  Living in the middle of such beautiful forests, fields, and mountains taught me a profound admiration for the natural world.  Since it’s also virtually the heart of Civil War country, I suppose a sense of connection to the past was almost inevitable.

    I went to Guilford College from 2006 to 2010, majoring in French, minoring in Photography.  I spent the spring 2009 semester in Paris.  After graduation and before leaving for Niger, I took a month-long assignment with Project HOPE as a photojournalist for their medical team in the Caribbean.  As part of the US military’s Operation Continuing Promise, we lived aboard the USS Iwo Jima.  We sailed to the north coasts of Haiti and Colombia, performing a wide range of medical services for those who could not afford health care.

    I’m honored to be serving in Peace Corps Madagascar, and I’m sure the next two years will be rewarding beyond measure.