I am a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at Penn State. I am a sociolinguist and a linguistic anthropologist broadly interested in the nexus of communication technology (i.e., social media), ideology,  and the discursive construction of race, gender, and nation. My work examines how internet users interact with each other on social media, particularly for banal and "non-political" reasons, and how this usage creates, reinforces, and challenges hegemonic power relations. My research  also aims to develop conceptual and analytical approaches to social media studies, considering how aspects of the internet challenge traditional assumptions in domains like critical discourse studies and narrative inquiry. 

Prior to Penn State, I received a BA in Linguistics from the University of California Santa Cruz (2018) and an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language from Northern Arizona University (2022).

Beyond academia, I am a bluegrass banjo player active in the central Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. I play periodically with regional bluegrass bands such as Seneca Creek, Greenwood Furnace Stokers, and the River Band, and have appeared on some Arizona-based projects, including Red McAdam's debut album and playing at the 2024 Pickin' in the Pines Bluegrass Festival with the Mountain Time Ramblers.