I've always had a passion for being outdoors but it wasn't until an undergraduate ecology course that I decided I really loved biology and wanted to teach it at the collegiate level. For my undergraduate degree (BS), I attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma and for my Master’s degree, I graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas. I studied sexual selection in crayfish for my Master’s work but recently have moved on to looking at a number of different behavioral and ecological questions in regards to scorpions.

Growing up I was always exposed to a number of different areas since we moved around a lot and traveled quite a bit with family and with different church organizations on Christian mission trips. Being a first generation American, I was able to experience my Brazilian heritage and the American culture, which has helped shape my views and love for travel and people that I hope to encourage students to also do.

My goal at SPC is to train the next future scientists, to expose students to different cultures and countries and to show them the same amount of respect and care as Christ has done for me.