About the Author

 

Hello! I'm Julie, a biologist currently based in Richmond, Virginia. I grew up in Hampton Roads, Virginia in the far southeast corner of the state and fell in love with science at an early age. My mom loves telling people that I wanted to be a paleontologist since I was 3 years old (and she's not wrong). My science career really began to take shape when I took AP Biology my senior year of high school. That was the moment I knew I wanted to be a biologist. I then went on to get my Bachelor's degree in Organismal Biology from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. While at CNU, I got involved in scientific research early and ended up working with an amazing professor for 3 and a half years and learning so much. I did 3 different independent research projects and ended up with 2 publications and a poster presentation under my belt before I was 22.

From there, I packed my bags and moved to Lawrence, Kansas to pursue my Master's degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas. I loved my year and a half in Kansas and learned a lot about adulthood and myself by moving halfway across the country without my family or my significant other. During that time, I realized my passion for communicating science to others. Outreach was very important to me as a graduate student, and a taste of teaching really inspired me to try this science communication thing out in my free time! Those loves of outreach and teaching are what inspired me to start this blog. 

After I finished my Master's, I decided to take a break from academia to see if the industry side of biology was more appealing. I worked for an environmental remediation company for a short time and now teach biology to high school students. I love teaching, but I miss actually doing science! So, who knows where the future will take me. 

While science is one of my favorite things, I think it is important to balance it with other passions (which is often difficult to do in scientific careers). Beyond biology, I love traveling, hiking, sports, cooking, reading novels, watching all kinds of documentaries, and napping with my dog.

My life so far has taken me on some amazing journeys and I am excited to share my past, present, and future adventures with you all. Thanks for reading and following along with this particular journey!

-Julie