I've always loved math and science in school, and I knew I wanted to pursue a STEM major in college. Growing up in New York City, I was surrounded by skyscrapers, bridges, and tunnels. So logically, I majored in civil engineering, where I learned how to apply those math and science skills to design for the built environment. But a big part of civil engineering is also learning about the natural environment, which led me to gradually become interested in the environmental side. I went on to work as a civil engineer after college, because I wanted to serve communities at large through the design and construction of public infrastructure.

After a few years, I realized that the traditional civil engineering path wasn't the right career path for me. I returned to school to pursue my masters in aerospace engineering, because space is cool and I knew how to 'engineer'. But I was also searching for something that could satisfy my curiosity and potentially have a large impact on all of society. During that time, I often found myself drawn to the science questions of space exploration, or in other words, more curious about the ‘why’ compared to the ‘how’. That's when I found out I could do research in polar and planetary science, where I could study icy environments on Earth and in the solar system. So I decided to alter my trajectory from engineering to geoscience. Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything, because studying engineering has helped me become a stronger geoscientist today.