“Sometimes it feels very surreal, to be employed at Princeton. I’ve been at SPIA for eight years, and I still have times when I'm walking on campus when I think, ‘I can’t believe I work here!’ The campus is full of really smart people who are doing some pretty amazing things, and it’s great because every day is different. I came to the university from a corporate environment, and I really love the flexibility that being in higher education brings.

My original intent was to work with kids and teens. I always kind of felt like I didn't fit in places very easily. I was shy and just kept to myself. I went to Montclair State University and was a psychology major. I did some field work and realized that I'm just too empathetic. I would take it home, and it was just too much. It would really weigh on me. But that training helps me in the work that I do now. With my psychology background, I'm kind of good at reading people. I can quickly walk into a room or meet people and know if I need to be professional with them or if I can be conversational. I’ve spent my life just knowing that there's good in everybody and in everything, and I just want to find that.