I've always been a photography hobbyist, and in 2006 I began formally studying the art behind the camera. I was enrolled at Oakland Community College for about a year, before returning to the University of Michigan Dearborn to pursue a second Bachelor's degree in Communications, with a focus on Journalism and Screen Studies.
I quickly found employment at The Michigan Journal, the University's campus newspaper, as their photo editor. Soon, I was buried in my full-time studies and a full-time schedule of shooting, writing, and editing. My first paying gig as a newbie photographer had me on the sidelines for U of M football games and a host of other campus-related activities, and I've never looked back since. By the time winter rolled around, I was interning at the Dearborn Press & Guide, writing up local news stories and shooting everything I could, from photographing the Mayor's Cup Hockey playoffs and a preliminary trial of a man accused of taking a Dearborn homeowner hostage, or writing about an exotic bird rescue organization.
My work for Press & Guide earned me the distinction of Intern of the Year from the University, and my story of a young woman's survival after being attacked one summer night in Dearborn Heights was named one of the best stories of 2009 by the editor.