Extended Biography

Although I was born in Houston, TX, and lived there for the first 9+ years of my life, I consider myself a native Californian. After all, I spent the first 8 months of my (prenatal) life in California. In the middle of fourth grade, my family and I moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area. They are all still there, but I have moved around the continent. I graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1988. During that time, I spent as much time babysitting and reading as I possibly could.

I did my undergrad at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, intending to become a high school math teacher. Once my friend Greg pointed out that I was getting an A++ in Developmental Psychology, and a lesser grade in Calc III, I became a Psychology major. It was then that I realized that my love of children could translate into a career of studying them. I earned my B.S. in 1991. From there, I went to the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota and earned my Ph.D. in Child Psychology in 1999. Minnesota was kind of a surprise for a California girl. Who knew it could get that cold?! I then moved to Montreal for my post-doc. Montreal is an amazing city! I loved it there - more culturally diverse than the SF Bay Area, which I didn't think was possible. In 2000, I moved to Marquette, and started work at Northern Michigan University, and have been here ever since.

I love to travel. In 1981, my family and I went to India. We visited family (on my dad's side), and traveled around the country. Someday, I will go back. :) Since then, I've been to many places in the US, and have been to four continents. I hope that at some point, I will be able to go to the other three. I've been to England, Canada, Chile, Peru, England again, Poland, Hungary, Japan, Greece, Argentina, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, and Jordan.

Leia & Zoey

* * Photo Album (coming soon)* *

My Serenity Firefly Personality Test Results:

You are... Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)!

Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)		90%	Medicine and physical healing are your game, but wooing women isn't a strong suit.
Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)		80%
Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command)		60%
Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)		60%
River (Stowaway)		55%
Derrial Book (Shepherd)		50%
Inara Serra (Companion)		35%
Wash (Ship Pilot)		30%
Alliance		30%
A Reaver (Cannibal)		25%
Jayne Cobb (Mercenary)		15%

Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test