Working in the Admissions and Social Services departments allowed me to gain direct experience assessing individuals for either short-term rehab or long-term care placement in a skilled nursing facility. I have gained knowledge in evaluating numerous medical diagnoses and health insurance coverage. This position has allowed me to better understand the way in which subacute healthcare is made available primarily to the geriatric population of Northern Colorado, those with chronic health conditions and dementia especially.

As a former sales associate and cashier, my customer service skills have grown exponentially as have my cash-handing ability and time-management skills.

As a hostess and a server at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, I gained customer service experience and the ability to manage a network of communication between managers and guests as well as other employees. I also trained nearly all incoming hosts and hostesses. I worked full-time through much of my undergraduate career, all while maintaining a high GPA as a full- time college student.

After submitting a research proposal to UCA’s biology department, I was permitted to study the relationship between dietary restriction and longevity using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as an animal model. Under the supervision of Dr. Mindy Farris life span assays were performed on several mutant strains of C. elegans over the course of three semesters. All results were then presented at a poster session before the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.