I spent 11 years as a Spanish teacher and school counselor at a high school in Camden County, New Jersey. While working there, I realized how my students' education and lives were impacted by many factors outside of the school. To learn to address these issues, I pursued Master’s degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice from the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University – Camden, respectively.
To continue my education and pursue a career in the areas I love most--criminology, teaching, and research—I completed a Ph.D. program in the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University-Newark where I focused on issues of school violence and mass shootings in the United States.
I consider myself incredibly lucky to have a profession in which I can help students, teach the subjects about which I am passionate, and work with faculty members who are committed to their students and share the same vision for the department. My favorite professional moments are those in which I can pique a student’s interest in a topic, book, or research, and I enjoy collaborating with students on my own research or their own ideas.