"Richard Feynman once remarked that "what one fool can understand, another can". I have been both the fool who has understood and the fool who has not, and more often than not a healthy bit of both.

I started college as a psychology and music double major before happening upon the mysteries of the cosmos in an introductory astronomy class. At the time, I had not even taken a high school physics course, but I was hooked on cosmology and knew I had to learn all that I could about physics to better understand the language of the universe. The rest was (not so distant) history.

As an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz I was forced to learn "the hard way" (i.e. by myself, and as quickly as possible to make up for my lackluster STEM background). By the end of my undergraduate career, I was in the top 5% of my class, taking graduate level quantum mechanics courses, and a teaching assistant for all introductory and advanced undergraduate physics courses.

After receiving my B.S., I went on to teach math and physics to students grades 6-12 at the Tilden Preparatory School in Albany, CA. At Tilden, I was able to work with students of nontraditional backgrounds, those with learning differences and IEPs, as well as advanced students who wanted to study at a college level.

Diving headfirst into physics as an adult with a humanities and arts background bestowed me a unique perspective on the subject. The term "shoshin" derives from Zen Buddhism referring to the concept of the "beginner's mind". To the beginner, there is a level of uncertainty that comes with unfamiliar territory, but along with it a near unlimited capacity for openness and creativity, unburdened by preconceptions. It is this mindset that I approach physics with, and that I attempt to foster in my students.

Today, I am a PhD student in the physics department here at UT as well as a teaching assistant for a variety of physics courses. Teaching continues to be one of my favorite pastimes as it allows me to share my love of the subjects with others." less...