I’ve led an eclectic life.
I’ve lived in 16 states (Ohio, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Florida, Kansas, Virginia, Massachusetts, Alabama, Illinois, Oklahoma, Washington, Hawaii, Washington, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado), 2 countries (U.S. and Germany), and visited 5 continents (still need to get to South America and Africa!). Much of that was as an Air Force brat, following my dad around the world before I even graduated from high school.
I have 5 degrees (physics, astronomy, music, library science, robotics), from 2 bachelors up to a PhD. I’ve studied music history and theory, quantum mechanics, gravitational lensing, databases, computer vision, and artificial intelligence. I’ve been accused of being an eternal student. I dropped out of grad school in astronomy, a large reason for which was my fear of presenting research in front of people. By the time I finished my PhD in robotics, I had presented research in front of hundreds of people multiple times, including a presentation which earned me an award for Best Student Presentation at a major worldwide robotics conference. Prayer, and preparation, changes things. But I still don’t like speaking in public.
I’ve practiced the piano for untold hours. I’ve been a church pianist since high school. I accompanied a branch of the Seattle Girls’ Choir. I taught myself how to play the cello, and now play that in church too. I played cello in Paris and Versailles, France, including in a theatre where Mozart once played, during a mission trip to help church-based refugee aid organizations.
I’ve stared at maps of the Moon for hours, to determine the best landing spot for a lunar rover. I’ve flown solo in an airplane and jumped out of one with a parachute, but I’m scared of being underwater. I’ve presented robotics papers in the Netherlands, South Korea, and America. I’ve researched robotics in the Arctic, Antarctica, and deserts in Utah and Arizona. I visited both polar regions within a single year. I’ve been to the bottom of Meteor Crater. I worked for NASA for 7 years, and later for Made In Space.
I started a cross-stitch design company, and published multiple designs in craft magazines.
I got married, then gave birth to 3 children within 3.5 years. I have homeschooled my children for most of their lives so far, though they have spent a semester here and there at public and private schools. I’ve learned more history by teaching my children than I ever did in school.
I have daydreamed stories since childhood, and writing is much more comfortable to me than speaking.
Most importantly, I have spent my whole life worshiping God. He is the source of life, and creativity, and all I am and do and have comes from His grace and love.
