I moved to Philadelphia to write.

At first, I knew no one.

I couldn’t tune out the noise: the low-flying helicopter over our building, the lurch of the trolley, people yelling on the street. I felt very alone.

I came from a place of rolling hills where life moved to the clattering of horse and buggies twisting round back roads. On city streets, I caught fragments in every direction. People didn’t mind when I listened to every word of their phone conversations during my half-hour commutes. When I began to work as a barista in a bustling indoor marketplace, I listened to the stories of my coworkers and customers. The noise soon became sounds overlapping: the hum of conversations, the breakdown of boxes, the rhythms of preparation.

While studying Creative Writing, I felt drawn to explore themes of loneliness and belonging in my work.

I wanted to understand how listening to stories makes us human.

After graduation, I began working at a contemporary art museum. I spent a lot of time in the galleries discussing artistic concepts, but I felt most alive when I had the opportunity to work on a radio segment: a collaboration between Philadelphia Contemporary and The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) celebrating the work of Jonathan Lyndon Chase.

I realized how much I loved audio storytelling. Soon, I left the art museum to begin an apprenticeship with a podcast called Shelter in Place.

Throughout the pandemic, I found rituals of rest to be grounding and restorative. During my apprenticeship, I created an episode exploring why our world needs more rest through the lens of a Shabbat practice. As an audio apprentice, I learned how to create emotional landscapes with words and sounds, and I knew that I wanted to continue sharing stories with the world.

I am continuing this journey at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and will graduate in December 2025!

I’m a freelance writer & audio producer asking the same question: What does it mean to be human?

Education

Salt Institute For Documentary Studies 2025

I received my MFA in creative writing from Temple University and my B.A. in English literature with a minor in print media studies from Millersville University.