The picture at the top of the page was one of my fondest momentos from my trips to France. It is a lazy Saturday afternoon in May outside the village of Briollay, located just northeast of Angers. I had spent the day hiking through the countryside, and captured this solitary fisherman under the steeple of the twelfth-century church steeple.

I was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, on the shores of Lake Erie, before moving with my family to Atlanta. I have always been interested in why people made the choices they did--hence my interest in history.

I completed my A.A. at Dekalb College (now Georgia Perimeter College) in 1997, then moved to Oglethorpe University to complete my B.A. in History in 1999.

I began graduate studies at Emory University in Atlanta in 2000, and earned my Ph.D. in August 2009. Along the way, I had the opportunities to teach at Emory University and the University of Georgia.

After completing my dissertation, I made the cross-continent move to Alaska, where I have been able to enjoy some of the most beautiful country on earth in between semesters. The hiking and camping simply cannot be beat (even in the Bernese Oberland, another of my favorite places).

Teeing Off for the
Alaska SeaLife Center

In March 2011, I joined a group of colleagues from UAA in a local charity event. The Alaska SeaLife Center hosts an annual Mini-Golf Charity Tournament. The SeaLife Center is located in beautiful Seward, Alaska, on the shores of Resurrection Bay near the Kenai Fjords National Park.

On a Saturday evening, teams play mini-golf (using tennis balls) within the SeaLife Center facilities. The SeaLife Center raised money through team registrations, donations, and the purchases of "mulligans" during the course of the evening.

Part of the festivities is a costume contest for the best team. Our idea was the "Eider-Dons," a play on the Eider Duck that is common up here. Our idea was a 1920s British public school theme, complete with robes, tweed, plaids, and knickerbockers (for me, at least). I'm happy to say we won!

The evening was a huge success, with the SeaLife Center raising over $8,000 dollars for their ongoing projects.