My professional journey has been centered on quality mentorship and quick adaptation to new subject matter. I began in an undergraduate research group, looking at novel and under-characterized environmentally relevant bacterial isolates. Despite being the youngest in the group and having no prior research experience, I quickly learned new techniques and built valuable professional relationships, and was ultimately asked to return for the following semester to mentor incoming students. My hard work also landed me an offer to join an accelerated master's program out of the lab that hosted the group. There, I worked to identify novel methanogenic archaea from tropical peatland soils and improve anaerobic archaeal isolation techniques. Prior to starting my graduate research in the Cadillo Lab, I had no previous experience working with anaerobic microbes and had to quickly gain a broad expertise in this area, while also building a depth of knowledge on methanogenic archaea and their functional role in peatlands, especially in the context of current climate conditions. While writing my thesis and immediately after the completion of my degree, I decided to take my passion for science and the microbial world to other budding professionals and taught introductory biology and microbiology laboratory courses at Grand Canyon University. Though this opportunity was a new challenge as I had never held a teaching role before, I quickly adapted and gained the respect and trust of my students. My current new challenging adventure is working to improve the sustainability and efficiency of mining operations by harnessing microbial metabolisms at Endolith, where I have the privilege of being mentored and led by some of the brightest and most talented experts in the field.