I am currently a PhD graduate student in the Biology Department at University of Florida. My dissertation project will examine how carnivorans adapted to the open felid niches during a time where there were no felid-like animals living in North America known as the “cat gap”. I received a BS in geology with a specialization in Paleontology from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 2009 and a MS in Geosciences from East Tennessee State University in 2012.