I am a PhD student in the body, place, and identity concentration. I received my B.A. in history and museum studies in 2016 from the University of Central Oklahoma. My work in the museum field focused on education and exhibit design. I developed a traveling an exhibit entitled "Black Masculinity and the Lynching Tree" that received an award for exhibition under 5,000 dollars in 2017. I used this exhibit to explore how in the museum field we can use environmental factors such as music, lighting, colors, and choice of language to create public spaces that allow for the discussion of difficult historical topics. I received my M.A. in history with a focus on African Diaspora and Gender studies in 2018. My thesis, "Gendering the Black Body," explored issues of body, gender, and identity during the First World War era. During my time at UCO, I worked with Dr. Lindsey Churchill and my amazing cohort to establish the Women's Research and BGLTQ+ Center.

In the fall of 2018, I started my PhD program in the History Department at UNT. I began studying under Dr. Jennifer Jensen Wallach, which introduced me to food history. This opened up new avenues of exploration in my research of African American history and culture. I am currently working on my dissertation that discusses the development of the African American community in Oklahoma City in the early twentieth century. I am interested in how concepts of race, place, and signifiers of identity shaped this area.

I am very passionate about working within my community. I recently began working with Rev. James Dorn of Mount Triumph Baptist church to research and archive the history of African American families who have been a part of historically black churches in Oklahoma City. We are working to develop a project that will engage African American youth and teach them historical research methods as a means to promote inquiry into their own local history. I am also working on a personal project that explores the culinary culture of Oklahomans. I am curious about what traditions have been passed down, how these traditions shaped Oklahoma culinary landscape, and how food creates of sense of communal identity.