I am a graduate student working with Dr. Dave Sanders. I am interested in extragalactic astronomy focusing on active galactic nuclei and the growth histories of supermassive black holes. I received my B.S. in Physics and Astronomy from Northern Arizona University where I worked with Dr. Lisa Chien on the study of turbulent gas motion in interacting galaxy systems. Since being a graduate student at the University of Hawai’i I have also worked with Dr. Dan Huber to show the potential of ground-based transient surveys as a tool to perform asteroseismology of evolved M giants in order to determine precise distances to stars in the galactic halo.