As a Research Assistant for Dr. Henning Schneider, I help perform experiments and analyze data for his research project involving Zebrafish and nicotine addiction. The purpose of this research is to develop a comprehensive database of the zebrafish serotonin system for the scientific community. In order to do this, we pretreat the zebrafish with a nicotine solution and then test drugs that would take the same pathway to see if they decrease the activity of the pretreated fish.

I began working at Mitchell's Fish Market my sophomore year in high school as a host and later transition into a serving position. While working both jobs, I learned how to interact with a wide array of people and provide quality customer service in order to create a positive dining experience. While hosting, I learned the importance of first impressions by being the first person that the guests see and interact, thus setting up the mood for the rest of their afternoon or evening. Once I transitioned to serving, I further developed my skills interacting with guests, while also improving my time management skills to put in orders and deliver the food in a timely manner especially when dealing with multiple tables. Outside of interacting with guests in the restaurant, I learned to interact with co-workers and management to create a positive work environment.

As a K-8 Mentor, I was assigned to travel to the various elementary and middle schools around Carmel, Indiana to work with kids who were dealing with social issues or a family hardship. As their mentor, I played games with them during recess and was essentially like a big brother to that student. In addition to seeing them at their respective school, we spent time with them away from the schools so that we could develop better relationships with the kids and relate to them more personally. Additionally, this allowed us to better understand what the mentee was going through and be able to give better advice and consolation for them.