About me
I am a first year Robotics Ph.D. at Oregon State University in the Robot Decision Making Laboratory advised by Geoffrey Hollinger, an RIT computer science undergrad alum, an Army Veteran, and a 3 time NASA intern. I have done multiple personal projects on topics I am interested in such as robotics, computer vision, autonomous systems, and machine learning. I am pursuing research in perception and control of multi-agent robotics systems!
Here is some of my story:
On August 4th, 2020, I was suddenly shocked to hear a loud explosion. Shortly afterward, I received a call from my officer in command telling me to hurry to the Joint Operations Center. I did not realize that my life was about to change forever. I found out shortly after arriving that there had been a massive explosion in the Port of Beirut, Lebanon. As an intelligence analyst during deployment, I was attached to Special Operations Command Central, filling the roles of lead intelligence analyst and director of intelligence for a few areas of operation. “What had happened here?” and “Was everything going to be okay?” were thoughts going through my recently turned 21-year-old mind. I immediately began working to answer intelligence updates that had begun flooding in. Pivotal in this was the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. Through their tasking, I was able to get context for the current information and was awestruck at the usefulness of the platforms. I was able to conduct port assessments using UAV imagery and give all of my efforts to aid in humanitarian relief efforts.
I have been fascinated by autonomous robotics, which require little overhead from a controller, and just how useful they can be during trying times. I am a first-generation college student, and during my first year at college as a computer science major, my grades had been dropping below my usual straight A’s. This was because I was unsure if I could even attend school the following semester. I did not qualify for student loans and had no one in my life who could cosign them either. I really felt the pressure that was put on individuals like myself in that system. When I nearly lost all hope, I discovered that I could join the Army National Guard to be able to afford school. I ended up being deployed six months after I finished training to a combat zone, where I even took online classes when I could through a remote satellite laptop, still pursuing my goals, and becoming a 40% disabled VA veteran at 21 years old.
It’s unfortunate that being underprivileged puts students across the nation in a similar situation, and some choose not to risk their lives. I believe that I am a better person because of it. I have learned a lot of contexts about what it means to be underprivileged and learned leadership skills and self- responsibility at a younger age than most might. I knew that, at this point, my entire career was on my back every step of the way. I have been self-funded since then and managed to bring my 2 semesters’ 2.71 GPA to a 3.53 after military service and my final semester of classes, all while having to drive 8 hours to do weekend training drills every month with my Army National Guard unit. When I am surrounded by some students who take their current situation for granted, I always try to have a conversation and remind everyone that they should be thankful for where they are and to work hard towards their goals.
I have seen through my tenacity that, just like with research, I can reach my destination if I break down the steps of the journey into feasible pieces. From the beginning, my tenacity has aided me as I grow my potential step by step. I am pursuing autonomous robotics as an extension of my undergraduate education in computer science to see my work come to life beyond the programs and algorithms I create. It is clear that graduate school is the next part of my journey in robotics research.
Research Interests: Robotics, Autonomous Systems, Perception, Guidance, Navigation, and Control
Get a PDF copy of my Resume here