Background

I earned my bachelor's degree in Psychology from Florida State University in December of 2021. During my undergraduate studies, I worked at Florida State University Child Care Center and the Florida Center for Reading Research where I developed my interests in language and reading.

Currently, I am a doctoral candidate working with Drs. Sonia Cabell and Matt Cooper Borkenhagen. I will be graduating with my Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Reading Education in Summer 2026.

My current and future research interests fall within two areas: 1) language acquisition, specifically semantic development and 2) investigating the role of the language learning environment on semantic development. My current scholarship centers on the relationship between semantic learning and a child’s environment, with a focus on books in early childhood education settings and how they contribute to semantic development.