Why I chose to pursue a career in healthcare:

My love of helping people lead me to the path of becoming a nurse practitioner. As a child I was always there to help my brother and sister when they skinned their knees or bumped their heads. My curiosity of how the body worked, healed and how medicines affected the healing process, lead me first to become a registered nurse and then on to becoming a certified nurse practitioner.

What I want my patients to know about me:

I started my health care career working as an emergency room nurse at Chambersburg Hospital and then at Waynesboro Hospital. I started taking my courses to become a nurse practitioner while working part time at Waynesboro Hospital. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Penn State in May 2011, I took (and passed!) my certification test in June 2011. In September 2011, I joined Dr. Brad Cooper at WellSpan Family Medicine-Thurmont, and as they say, the rest is history. It is my love for helping people that keeps me motivated and happy to come to work everyday.

What I do when I'm not seeing patients:

I love traveling to third-world countries as a missionary to provide care for people who rarely, if ever, get a chance to see a healthcare provider. The excitement and joy they show when someone from "outside" comes to help them, knowing the hardships we have had to endure to get there, melts my heart every time. When leaving their country, I truly feel that I have made a difference in their health care and look forward to the next trip. I also like to learn about alternative and herbal medications, particularly the methods used in remote areas to help remedy common ailments.