As an undergraduate student, my initial interests lay in the study of space, particularly through astronomy and physics. While I still love both, especially theoretically, I found myself majoring in Africana studies and participating in the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program. While conducting my McNair research on skin-tone bias and the lived experiences of Black women in law and academia, I found myself reading the work of several sociologists—primarily Black women. The works of Patricia Hill Collins, Margaret L. Hunter, and Verna Keith inspired me to take sociology seriously by going to graduate school in the field. As an undergraduate student and McNair Scholar, I published two articles on the topic of skin-tone bias, Black women, and the workplace. This work was my introduction into the field of sociology, and has held my interest, diverging into new areas overtime. As a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, I fell in love with the study of sports, physical activity, and culture, as well as the role of food in social relationships (e.g., romantic, work, religion). 

Born in Denver Colorado to an Angolan immigrant mother and a Black American father (raised by a village) I spent much of my childhood in college towns across the US (OH, KY, WA). I graduated high school in Pullman, Washington and went directly to the University of Pittsburgh. After two years in Pennsylvania, I transferred to the University of Northern Colorado (UNCO) where I earned my BA in Africana studies, became the first Black Homecoming Queen of UNCO, and had the opportunity to study abroad in Istanbul, Turkey.