Hi there! I am a graduate student in the Animal Behavior and Welfare Group at Virginia Tech and a recent alumna of The College of William & Mary. From an early age, my life has been surrounded by animals; I have been continuously learning how to enrich their lives, as they have enriched mine, offer animals positive socialization experiences with people, and try to understand each animal's unique needs. Entering my journey at William & Mary, I wanted to continue searching for ways to work with, socialize, and understand animals. As a result, I began pivotal experiences in my life: delving into research in human-animal interaction, founding an animal therapy program, fostering companion animals, and volunteering with rescue animals in agricultural and shelter settings. These experiences have profoundly impacted my desire to better understand animal behavior and use this understanding to promote the welfare of animals, particularly those in a shelter setting. Aside from being an "animal person," my commitment to learning and academics has always been a keystone of who I am. I am incredibly excited to be continuing my journey with research and animal welfare advocacy as a graduate student at Virginia Tech. I am following my passion to combine education with animal welfare work, focusing my research on companion animal foster caregiving and human-animal support services.