I am a doctoral candidate in the community psychology program at DePaul University. I received my BA in English and psychology from the University of Southern Indiana in 2011 and an MA in applied psychology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2013.
As a scholar, gamer, and participant in online worlds, my major research interests revolve around how we interact with various technologies, especially those that house online communities. There is a burgeoning interest in technology as a dramatically growing area of human activity over the last decade for people across demographic groups. In particular, I am interested in understanding how technologies influence communities, the self, and health behaviors. When I’m not doing research, I like to write for DieHard GameFAN.
With regards to aging specifically, I work with Dr. Joseph Mikels of DePaul’s Emotion and Cognition Lab, who researches emotion-cognition across the lifespan, with a particular interest in older adults. Together, his lab and I have conducted focus groups with older and younger adults on their exercise habits and preferences. We are interested in studying where older and younger adults are alike and dissimilar in their habits and preferences.