Though I was born in Maryland, I consider myself a native North Carolinian because my family moved to Raleigh when I was four months old. At nine months old, I was baptized at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian in Cary, North Carolina, and was later confirmed and ordained as an elder in the same congregation. I grew up regularly attending Sunday School, participating in Vacation Bible School, singing in the youth choir, serving on the church and presbytery youth councils, and spending time in Montreat every summer.

I began my college studies at Meredith College, a small private women’s college in Raleigh, North Carolina. After my sophomore year, I transferred to UNC-Chapel Hill and completed a B.A. in Communications in May 2005. (We won the National Championship that year – Go Heels!) University Presbyterian became my church home in Chapel Hill, and I enjoyed worshipping there and serving as a youth advisor on Sunday evenings.   My experiences with UPC made me aware of my call to ordained ministry, but I wasn’t quite ready to take that step immediately after college graduation. 

I worked at a stationery store in Chapel Hill for two years before I was offered a summer internship at UPC, and it was that internship experience that confirmed my call to ministry. I began the M.Div program at Columbia    Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, in the fall of 2006, and thoroughly enjoyed my three years there. I loved the classes, the professors, and the opportunity to worship and to learn with the seminary community. I graduated from Columbia in May 2009 and then completed an intensive unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Metro State Women’s Prison in Atlanta over the summer. After CPE, I continued to serve as the Children’s Ministry intern at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta (a position I began in October 2007) and to volunteer at the prison on a weekly basis. 

In my spare time, I like to spend time with my friends and family, read, go to concerts, run or go to yoga classes, visit art museums, and wander bookstores. I’m excited about being a part of Providence, and I’m looking forward to getting to know y’all as we make this journey of faith together!