I was born in Illinois and raised on my family's farm operation, Dandee Berks. I have learned much about working in agriculture. On the farm, I have experience with swine husbandry, feed formulation and grinding, warehouse management, welding, and helping with planting, harvesting and seed cleaning. 

I have a strong desire to learn, and the two subjects I was most interested in learning about were computers and animals (and more specifically swine), so I pursued a degree and graduated from UIUC in May of 2025 with a Bachelor's in Computer Science and Animal Science from the College of ACEs. Towards the end of my degree, I found that I strongly enjoyed learning about nutrition and how the body works. I also enjoy working with pigs. I decided to pursue further education with these interests in mind.

I met Dr. Stein through a class I was taking my senior year, and I am incredibly grateful for having the opportunity to join his team. I look forward to learning from everyone, expanding my knowledge in swine nutrition, and gaining a better understanding of what it means to be a nutrition scientist.