​
I was born and raised in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh known for its malls ("Miracle Mile" was once the longest strip mall in the US, and Dawn of the Dead was filmed at Monroeville Mall, then one of the largest malls in the nation.). I am of Syrian, Italian, Russian, and Polish heritage and therefore come from a large, loud family. I joke that we  "came through Ellis Island and never went back"...until I accidentally became a Francophile, went to the exhibition "Paris 1900" at the Petit Palais in 2014, and decided to pursue a doctorate.

I am interested, first and foremost, in pursuing an "alternative academic" career, possibly in the areas of design, curation, librarianship, or study abroad education. Some of my life goals are:  to turn my dissertation into a coffee-table book (Sacré bleu!), to sell my leather bags professionally, and to try stand-up comedy at least once.

  

Press Clippings:

Please click publication 
names for article PDFs.

"160-year-old magazine finds new life through Penn State digitization" Current.it.psu 09-18-13
"Liberal Arts Scholarship and Technology Summit" Storify 08-16-13
"Make a Point" Partnouveau.com 07-08-13
"Undergraduate Research Fair" French.psu.edu  Spring 2013
"Percentage of tenured faculty on the decline at Penn State" The Daily Collegian 02-01-13
"Campaign tries to fight overpriced textbooks" The Daily Collegian 09-10-12  
"UPUA textbook initiative sparks debate" The Daily Collegian 10-11-12
"Style Advice of the Week: Back in Black"  College Fashionista  03-27-12

 
 

Favorites:

ARTISTS- Alphonse Mucha, Pamela Love, Wendy Nichol, Kelly Wearstler, Piero Fornasetti
MUSICIANS- Rob Dougan, Bear McCreary, Lana Del Rey
FILMS- Black Swan, L'Apollonide, The Queen of Versailles
TELEVISION- Battlestar Galactica, Seinfeld, Kurt Seyit ve Şura, The Forsyte Saga