I knew when I was about 12 years old that I wanted to work in television. At the time, I thought I wanted to be a news anchor. As I started college and began working on the campus public-access TV show, I quickly learned that I prefer to be behind the scenes. I love the research, writing, and creative problem solving inherent in media production. I have had a fantastic career this far, but over the last few years, I've felt stuck. I know there are more glass ceilings left to break, thus, I'm now pursuing a masters degree in strategic communication. I believe that my prior career experience can be deployed to tell stories that are more than just entertainment. With this new degree, I hope to pivot to working on ad campaigns and public relations, especially for causes I care about. My younger sister, Johanna, died suddenly almost 7 years ago, leaving behind two little girls. She'd experienced a massive cerebral hemorrhage caused by a rare cancer - one that had spread throughout her body and brain, and had eroded a blood vessel, causing the bleed. I have spent a lot of time in therapy to be able to process this loss and be able to speak about the cancer that took my sister. These days, I try to spread awareness so no other family has to go through what I have. Johanna's cancer, choriocarcinoma, is a rare pregnancy-related cancer. It is >90% curable when caught early. Three months after delivery, pregnancy hormones have left a woman's body and a pregnancy test should be false. If one gets a false-positive, they should ask to be screened for choriocarcinoma. A simple drugstore test could have saved Johanna's life. She never even knew she was sick. I now tell anyone who is carrying a child to take a pregnancy test 3 months after their delivery, to be sure they are in the clear. I post her story on social media every year on the anniversary of her death, and every year get messages from new moms who have taken a test both to protect themselves, but also to remember and honor Johanna. I hope that I can show Johanna's daughters that adversity may cause you to stumble, but that it's possible to carry on. You're never too old to grow and to work on yourself and to learn new things. I am stronger than I ever wanted to be, but I want to use that strength to help advocate for others and to share Johanna's story. I hope that I'll be able to use my new education to further those efforts. I always used to say "I hope when I grow up, I turn out like my little sister", who was the smartest woman I knew. I know she'd be proud of me for taking this leap.

I knew when I was about 12 years old that I wanted to work in television. At the time, I thought I wanted to be a news anchor. As I started college and began working on the campus public-access TV show, I quickly learned that I prefer to be behind the scenes. I love the research, writing, and creative problem solving inherent in media production. I have had a fantastic career this far, but over the last few years, I've felt stuck. I know there are more glass ceilings left to break, thus, I'm now pursuing a masters degree in strategic communication. I believe that my prior career experience can be deployed to tell stories that are more than just entertainment. With this new degree, I hope to pivot to working on ad campaigns and public relations, especially for causes I care about. My younger sister, Johanna, died suddenly almost 7 years ago. She'd experienced a massive cerebral hemorrhage caused by a rare cancer - one that had spread throughout her body and brain, and had eroded a blood vessel, causing the bleed. I have spent a lot of time in therapy to be able to process this loss and be able to speak about the cancer that took my sister. These days, I try to spread awareness so no other family has to go through what I have. Johanna's cancer, choriocarcinoma, is a rare pregnancy-related cancer. It is >90% curable when caught early. Three months after delivery, pregnancy hormones have left a woman's body and a pregnancy test should be false. If one gets a false-positive, they should ask to be screened for choriocarcinoma. A simple drugstore test could have saved Johanna's life. She never even knew she was sick. I now tell anyone who is carrying a child to take a pregnancy test 3 months after their delivery, to be sure they are in the clear. I post her story on social media every year on the anniversary of her death, and every year get messages from new moms who have taken a test both to protect themselves, but also to remember and honor Johanna. I hope that I can show Johanna's daughters that adversity may cause you to stumble, but that it's possible to carry on. You're never too old to grow and to work on yourself and to learn new things. I am stronger than I ever wanted to be, but I want to use that strength to help advocate for others and to share Johanna's story. I hope that I'll be able to use my new education to further those efforts. I always used to say "I hope when I grow up, I turn out like my little sister", who was the smartest woman I knew. I know she'd be proud of me for taking this leap.

My sister, Johanna, was the smartest and most creative person I've ever met. She was a whiz with LEGOs when we were kids, and we always knew she would become an engineer. It was no surprise when she was accepted into an elite engineering college. I tried to read her thesis, and despite it being in English, I couldn't make heads or tails of it! Besides being brilliant, Johanna was FUN. She was always surrounded by friends and would put together amazing activities and adventures for her two little girls. She eventually started a small business customizing activity kits for other families - just like the activity books and crafts she designed for her daughters. On July 8, 2019, I got a panicked call that Johanna had experienced a medical emergency and was airlifted, and that I needed to get to Houston, Texas *NOW*. Seeing her comatose, on a ventilator with wires everywhere and her head wrapped in bandages, is a sight I wish I could forget. She'd experienced a massive cerebral hemorrhage. Johanna awoke the next day and showed rapid improvement. During that week, however, we learned that the hemorrhage was caused by a rare cancer - one that had already spread throughout her body and brain, and had eroded a blood vessel, causing the bleed. Johanna began chemotherapy and, while still very weak, was discharged to go home before her next round of treatment. She read bedtime books with her daughters and put them to sleep. That same night, she experienced another bleed and doctors were unable to save her. The odds say she should have died on July 8, but she fought for 10 more days. We are lucky we had that time with her, but it could never be enough. We never got to say goodbye. I began twice-weekly therapy to work through the trauma of losing my sister. Digging into the pain was nearly as difficult as experiencing it the first time, but it was able to take the edge off to where I'm able to speak about the cancer that took my sister and spread awareness so no other family has to go through what I have. Johanna's cancer, choriocarcinoma, is a rare pregnancy-related cancer. It is >90% curable when caught early. Three months after delivery, pregnancy hormones have left a woman's body and a pregnancy test should be false. If one gets a false-positive, they should ask to be screened for choriocarcinoma. A simple drugstore test could have saved Johanna's life. Johanna never even knew she was sick. I now tell anyone who is carrying a child to take a pregnancy test 3 months after their delivery, to be sure they are in the clear. I post her story on social media every year on the anniversary of her death, and every year get messages from new moms who have taken a test both to protect themselves, but also to remember and honor Johanna. I hope that I can show Johanna's daughers that adversity may cause you to stumble, but that it's possible to carry on. You're never too old to grow and to work on yourself and to learn new things. I am stronger than I ever wanted to be, but I use that strength to help advocate for others and to share her story. I always said that I hope when I grow up, I can turn out like my little sister. I know she'd be proud of me.

My sister, Johanna, was the smartest and most creative person I've ever met. She could do anything. I always said that when I grew up, I hoped I'd turn out like my little sister - I'm still working on becoming the woman she was. She was a whiz with LEGOs when we were kids, and we always knew she would become an engineer. It was no surprise when she was accepted into Webb Institute, an elite marine engineering school. She became the social chair there and even won an award for her thesis! I tried to read it, and despite it being in English, I couldn't make heads or tails of it! Besides being brilliant, Johanna was FUN. She was always surrounded by friends and would put together the most amazing activities and adventures for her two little girls. She eventually started a small business of her own, selling and customizing activity kits for other families - just like the activity books and crafts she designed for her daughters. If Johanna and I were still alive, she and I would start a bakery together. Jo took after our grandmother, who was always a force of nature in the kitchen! Our grandma would make the best treats, abut Jo found ways to make them healthy - sneaking in vegetables or whole grain flour. She wanted to feed her young family the recipes she remembered and cherished, but also to nourish them. I remember visiting her shortly after she gave birth to her youngest daughter and trying my best to help her out, despite not being a mom myself and not really knowing what to do. She asked me to help her stock her freezer with easy snacks that could be eaten on the go, so we spent the day in the kitchen. She pulled out recipes for muffins that had 3 different kinds of vegetables in them but somehow managed to be delicious! It was such a fun memory and I remember her older daughter (who was only 2 years old at the time) "helping" us by smashing the bananas we needed for banana bread. These days, when I'm not busy with my career, I enjoy baking myself, having taken up her mantle. I feel like she and our grandmother are with me when I'm baking, and feeding people something that I've made has become my love language. My specialty is now lemon-blueberry-zucchini bread made with applesauce instead of oil - something tasty and healthy that I know she would approve of. Between the two of us, Johanna and I would have an amazing bakery. Johanna passed suddenly in 2019 from complications of a rare cancer that she didn't even know she had, leaving behind two young daughters. I hope that I can show her daughters (my nieces and goddaughters) that you're never too old to keep learning.

I knew when I was about 12 years old that I wanted to work in television. At the time, I thought I wanted to be Katie Couric - the anchor on the Today Show. As I started college and began working on the campus public-access TV show, I quickly learned that I enjoy being behind the scenes much more than being in front of the camera. I love the research, writing, and creative problem solving inherent in media production. I have had a fantastic career this far, but I am not done growing and challenging myself. There are ceilings left to break! I'm now pursuing a masters degree in strategic communications (with a 4.0 so far!) to open more doors and add another feather to my cap. I believe that my experience can be deployed to tell stories for campaigns, public relations, and causes I care about, not just storytelling for entertainment. I want to inspire my nieces - my late sister's (RIP) daughters - and show them that you're never too old to learn and grow. During my career, I have worked my way up from being an intern at my college town's PBS station to directing interviews with National Geographic Explorers. I still collaborate with the producer who gave me my first break as a campus reporter - he with his own production company, and I, helping with producing and rights clearance work. Over the years, I’ve managed multiple video projects simultaneously, shepherding them through the pipeline from brainstorming, storyboarding and budgeting, all the way through final delivery; being sure that stakeholders are aligned at all times during the process. I’ve helped to train new colleagues and translated media production concepts to those unfamiliar with industry workflows. I’ve advised on which freelancers to hire, what terms to include in their contracts, and ensured that teams obtained the proper licenses to utilize third-party content. I’ve spent time in the field, on set, and in studios with production crews. I’m experienced at securing locations and coordinating logistics, directing shoots, and conducting challenging and thoughtful interviews with everyone from crime-scene investigators to paleoanthropologists. I’ve obtained sound bites that have brought audiences to tears, and edited pieces tip-to-tail in Adobe Premiere Pro. What I like most about media production is knowing which strings to pull, and how to braid those strings together. In my current role as a Coordinating Producer for National Geographic Learning, I’ve worked with a global team to create bespoke videos for educational products – videos seen by diverse audiences of millions, in over 50 countries. I take pride in having created engaging content that delivers real stories with integrity. I’ve produced gritty true crime programming for Investigation Discovery, longform factual content for National Geographic, and historical documentary-style shorts on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. I enjoy taking a deep dive into a complex topic to find the narrative and solving problems along the way. I think my greatest strengths lie in pre-production planning, as I know from experience that the more thoroughly a team plans, the more effective they can be when the cameras start rolling, saving time and headaches downstream. I relish the challenge of media production and storytelling, and I’m grateful for the breadth of experience I’ve been able to accumulate, but I know I've got more in the tank. I look forward to the new adventures and opportunities that I'll gain with a masters degree.

I knew when I was about 12 years old that I wanted to work in television. At the time, I thought I wanted to be Katie Couric - the anchor on the Today Show. As I started college and began working on the campus public-access TV show, I quickly learned that I enjoy being behind the scenes much more than being in front of the camera. I love the research, writing, and creative problem solving inherent in media production. I have had a fantastic career this far, but I am not done growing! I'm now pursuing a masters degree in strategic communications (with a 4.0 so far!) to open more doors and add another feather to my cap. I believe that my experience can be deployed to tell stories for companies, campaigns, public relations, causes - not just storytelling for entertainment (though that remains really fun, too). During my career, I have worked my way up from being an intern at my college town's PBS station to directing interviews with National Geographic Explorers. I still collaborate with the producer who gave me my first break as a campus reporter - he with his own production company, and I, helping with producing and rights clearance work. Over the years, I’ve managed multiple video projects simultaneously, shepherding them through the pipeline from brainstorming, storyboarding and budgeting, all the way through final delivery; being sure that stakeholders are aligned at all times during the process. I’ve helped to train new colleagues and translated media production concepts to those unfamiliar with industry workflows. I’ve advised on which freelancers to hire, what terms to include in their contracts, and ensured that teams obtained the proper licenses to utilize third-party content. I’ve analyzed EDLs and cross-checked releases and deliverables to ensure all boxes are checked. I’ve spent time in the field, on set, and in studios with production crews. I’m experienced at securing locations and coordinating logistics, directing shoots, and conducting challenging and thoughtful interviews with everyone from crime-scene investigators to paleoanthropologists. I’ve obtained sound bites that have brought audiences to tears, and edited pieces tip-to-tail in Adobe Premiere Pro. What I like most about media production is knowing which strings to pull, and how to braid those strings together. In my current role as a Coordinating Producer for National Geographic Learning, I’ve worked with a global team to create bespoke videos for educational products – videos seen by diverse audiences of millions, in over 50 countries. I take pride in having created engaging content that delivers real stories with integrity. I’ve produced gritty true crime programming for Investigation Discovery, longform factual content for National Geographic, and historical documentary-style shorts on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. I enjoy taking a deep dive into a complex topic to find the narrative and solving problems along the way. I think my greatest strengths lie in pre-production planning, as I know from experience that the more thoroughly a team plans, the more effective they can be when the cameras start rolling, saving time and headaches downstream. I relish the challenge of media production and storytelling, and I’m grateful for the breadth of experience I’ve been able to accumulate. I look forward to the new adventures and opportunities that I'll gain with a masters degree.

My favorite athlete the cheer for in the past Olympics was Ilona Maher of USA Women's Rugby. I love her strength and her boldness in being herself and advocating for body diversity and acceptance. Ilona became Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue digital cover model after making such an impact at the Olympic Games, and I think it's so refreshing that a big muscular woman is shown as a swimsuit model - it's a big change from the waif-thin models I grew up seeing, and it is a healthy goal for others to emulate. She is authentic, fearless and beautiful in her own way - showing that strength and intelligence is beauty, and that while she's beautiful on the outside too, beauty is so much more than one's looks. Ilona has used her newfound fame making a splash on social media showing herself working out with her teammates, cheering on other female athletes, lifting heavy weights and eating real food, emphasizing to others how important it is to fuel one's body as an athlete. She's not just existing on salads! She's helping women's rugby to gain recognition in the US. It has been fun to watch her now on Dancing with the Stars, showing off her athletic abilities and her strength on the dance floor in an entirely different way than she does on the rugby pitch. She's an all-around inspiration for her work to bring rugby to the masses and championing healthy and authentic living.