Growing up, I was raised on the small country-side of rural Missouri. The community was small with acres of farmland and vast plains in between. The idea of the “city” was almost like a fairytale, or a place you’d only see in the movies. But I was dreaming of a different world, one far away from there, on a different path. I just couldn’t see what it was, yet.
I left my little town in Missouri and I came to California, to the Academy of Art University, in San Francisco. The city itself was enough to take in, but the work and hands-on experience was something I never even dreamed of. At first, my focus was on directing, but I wanted to learn everything about every department. I fell in love with how the productions were made, finding my place in the assistant director’s position. I began studying with the graduate students above me, learning everything I could. I dedicated my goals to studying every department so that I could efficiently and expeditiously communicate with everyone and make the sets run smoothly.

While studying these other positions, I started taking cinematography classes. The teachers and students I met in the department started to teach me everything about camera assisting, and I was in love. I decided to dedicate my time to learning and becoming more efficient within production and the camera department and truly be a force in the industry with multiple departments under my belt.