How I Got Here

I didn't always know I wanted to study communication or become a researcher. In fact, I think I may have only taken two communication courses -- the two required of my major -- when I was an undergraduate student. As a first-generation college student, my sense of possible majors and career paths was murky at best. I chose a familiar path: high school English teacher. I took classes on literature, writing, teaching strategies and methods, and adolescent psychology. I completed my student-teaching, earned my provisional license to teach language arts in grades 7-12, and received my BA in English in 2007 from Ohio Northern University. 

An opportunity arose to stay at my alma mater as an admissions counselor. I spent three years as an admissions counselor -- guiding prospective students and their parents through the admission and financial aid process -- before earning a promotion to assistant director of admissions. For the next few years, I coordinated our integrated marketing communications plan. I found my work fulfilling -- I helped students and parents navigate a process that was once so unfamiliar, uncertain, and intimidating for me and my parents. I also found myself fascinated by interpersonal communication, especially interpersonal communication occurring via social media. I yearned to satiate that curiosity. I applied to graduate school.

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In my first semester in the MA program in Communication at Wake Forest University, I took a class on personal relationships and health and my path became more clear: I wanted to conduct research on social support, relationships, and technology. Receiving effective social support is crucial to well-being, and communication is key to activating and offering high quality support. Personal and social media create opportunities—and obstacles—to accessing quality support. I earned an MA in Communication from Wake Forest in 2014 and a PhD in Interpersonal Communication and Relationships from the University of Iowa in 2018. I spent a year teaching and doing research as an assistant teaching professor at Penn State University before joining the faculty at Purdue in Fall 2019.

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Along this professional journey, I've spent a good deal of time volunteering and mentoring high school students through HOBY (Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership). HOBY's mission is to inspire our global community of youth to a life dedicated to service, leadership, and innovation. For over 15 years, I have volunteered at their local leadership seminars, primarily in Ohio. I have also volunteered for their national and international programs. Their curriculum is guided by the social change model of leadership, and my role typically involves helping students identify needs in their community that align with their passions and develop plans to address those needs.

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In my day-to-day life here in Greater Lafayette, I enjoy a daily crossword puzzle and lunchtime stroll around campus. It is not uncommon that I will alert students and colleagues about the state of the weather that day: Fresh air and sunshine can lift my mood -- and I hope theirs too -- in an instant. My husband and I love cooking and eating, in equal measure, and we love to spend time when we can with our families scattered across the Midwest and the Carolinas. When creativity strikes, I am a force to reckon with: I am the defending champion of our department's Halloween costume contest and winner of our 2022 Halloween door-decorating contest.