Outside of philosophy, I enjoy running, yoga, cooking, and competitive games. I have 9 siblings and 15 nieces and nephews. I grew up in Rockport, Texas, a tiny fishing and shrimping community on the Gulf of Mexico.
I went to undergrad at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, where I completed a B.A. in philosophy. I attended Texas Tech on a full athletic scholarship and spent most of my time there training and competing in cross country and track & field. I achieved All American and Academic All American honors in the NCAA and was 6th place in the 800 meters in the US Championships in 2002. Though I graduated early with a 3.9 GPA, my focus at this time was primarily on developing my athletic career.
After I graduated from Texas Tech, I moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas to compete in track & field and pursue an M.A. in philosophy at the University of Arkansas. At the time my goal was to be a professional runner, however a string of injuries put an end to that dream. After completing my NCAA eligibility and M.A. degree, I decided to trade one bad job market (running) for another (philosophy), and I applied to philosophy PhD programs.
In the Fall of 2005, I moved to Madison, Wisconsin to start working on a Ph.D. in philosophy. I found that the skills and habits I developed in my athletic career served me well in my academic career. Though the Wisconsin winter was a bit of an adjustment for a South Texas native, I loved Madison and the UW Philosophy department. I learned so much from the faculty and my fellow grad students about how to be a good teacher and scholar. I defended my dissertation in April of 2011.
From 2011-2012 I was a James S. McDonnell Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology program at Washington University in St. Louis. It was rewarding to take part in such a lively interdisciplinary program. I ended my postdoc a year early to take up a position as Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Oklahoma State University, which provided a solution to my two-body problem. One of the things I enjoy most about being at OSU is getting to introduce students from a wide range of backgrounds to the joys and challenges of doing philosophy.