My love for orchids started with a childhood spent wandering through my grandmother's backyard collection. However, it wasn't until I bought my very first orchid at 13 years old that my love for the plants truly began. This love led me to my local orchid society, where I connected with Ecuagenera, and was able to learn alongside mentors about  orchid production in their facilities in Gualaceo, Ecuador.

In 2017, I had the opportunity to attend the World Orchid Conference in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where I helped vendors with sales and translating Spanish, attended talks, and navigated through CITES regulations to bring back the cool orchids I bought. 

I interned at the Million Orchid Project Lab at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in 2019, led by Dr. Jason Downing. I got to help on the effort to reintroduce one million native Floridian orchids, and spent my days mounting orchids around Miami, working in the micropropagation lab, and explaining the details of orchid conservation to garden visitors.

My time on The O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm has taught me the value of sustainable growing. Through my EarthSys classes, working as a student farm hand, leading volunteers, and doing independent studies, I've gained a valuable new perspective on how to care for plants and the earth.