I grew up on a farm in southern Door County, WI, and was homeschooled from first through eighth grade. On that farm during my childhood, my parents fostered a learning environment that allowed me to explore my interests and pursue my questions to their furthest, which inspired in me a life-long joy for learning (briefly dimmed during those rough public high school years). I struggled to find the right path to take for years (I even completed some nursing school) while raising my two children, and finally allowed myself the joy of studying English at the age of 26. It was during those studies, preparing myself to teach high school English, that I stepped into a class on the history of the English language and somewhere in my mind a light clicked on. It was the first step on the journey that brought me here in pursuit of my PhD in Medieval Literature. 

I spend my free time practicing falconry (and will happily bend your ear about it if you let me!). I currently have two dogs and two cats, and I enjoy sewing, a good British cuppa, and dancing in my kitchen, and I hope to travel extensively in the future. I'd particularly like to visit Norway, Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as spend more time in England and Wales.