I was born and raised in rural northern Maine, where I grew up with a strong connection to the outdoors. I hunted and fished most every minute of my spare time, and the rest was spent daydreaming about the woods. In high school, I met a fisheries biologist while ice fishing on a local lake, and I realized that I wanted nothing more than to pursue a career in the fisheries field. I began working as a seasonal field assistant for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife around the time I graduated high school, and continued to work for the Department off and on for four years with a number of different fish biologists. I attended college at the University of Maine and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Wildlife Ecology with a minor in Fisheries. During that time, I temporarily moved out West and worked for Idaho Fish and Game on multiple research projects, primarily focused on rainbow trout research. I am currently living in northern Utah and working on a Masters degree in Fisheries Biology at Utah State University. Aside from working on my research project involving brown trout and native cutthroat trout, I continue to enjoy hunting, fishing and trapping in an entirely new setting.