HELLO! A BIT ABOUT ME

I am currently a second year PhD student at Clemson University in the Planning, Design, and the Built Environment program and concurrent Masters of Science in Architecture program. Having grown up in Orange County in Southern California, I have long enjoyed the detailed narrative environments of theme parks.

I earned my Bachelor's Degree in Cognitive Science at the University of California, Berkeley with concentrations in Psychology and Neuroscience. During my studies, I worked as an undergraduate researcher in several Psychology and Neuroscience labs on campus and at UC Irvine and the Medical University of South Carolina where I looked at neuropsychiatric disorders. At UC Berkeley, I was active with the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, earning a certificate in Human Centered Design.

After graduation, I attended the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) to earn my MFA in Themed Entertainment Design. While there, I took a wide variety of elective courses in many aspects of the design process including illustration, design management, fabrication, set decoration, and costuming, to name a few. Through my studies at SCAD (and theme park visits as much as possible), My passion for cognitive science and accessibility came through in projects such as “Solara’a,” the runner up entry in the Cornell Theme Park Design Competition in 2019, “Unity Square,” a semifinalist project for Disney’s Imaginations Competition in 2020, and Agent Undercover, a design for an immersive interactive queue for a fictional ride. My thesis project, “Mythica: Land of the Mythic Isles,” incorporated these ideas for accessibility and inclusivity further as a main component of the research paper and park design. The core theme of the park, universal community, best exemplifies my design and research interests in creating fully inclusive, universally accessible themed experiences that allow all guests to experience the immersion and excitement of a theme park together as a global community.

After interning as a CAD Design Intern at Disney Parks Live Entertainment in Orlando in Early 2020, I stayed active in the themed entertainment industry through programs such as the Themed Entertainment Creative Workshop Series, interning at BRC Imagination Arts, and freelancing as a concept designer, illustrator, and 3D modeler. I also served on the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA)’s Eastern Board of Directors as an Associate Member Representative, chairing the Communications and NextGen Committees and is an active member of the TEA NextGen Committee on the University Relations and Communications teams.

In August 2021, I began studies at Clemson University in the Planning, Design, and the Built Environment (PDBE) PhD and Masters of Science in Architecture programs. My research interests are guided by these same ideas of universal inclusion in theme park environments. Through the lenses of Architecture, Psychology, and Universal Design, I am researching universally designed and fully inclusive themed environments and possible interventions to increase accessibility in these spaces.