In fall of 2020, I enrolled at Clemson University’s Audio Technology program. I had never done theatre, and initially I wanted to own a recording studio. However, The Clemson Players, Clemson’s student-led theatre group, needed someone to run the sound console for a show of theirs. Through this opportunity I fell in love with theatre, especially the technical and design elements. I found a place where I felt free to express myself, a place that combined creative collaboration with problem solving. I continued to work on several other shows, always on the sound crew.

I took a costume design course, taught by Kendra Johnson, in the spring semester of my freshman year, and spent a lot of time working on class projects; it didn’t feel like homework at all. Regardless, I stayed in the Audio Technology concentration because of my love for live sound reinforcement.

In the fall semester of senior year, I took a production studies class, taught by Shannon Robert. Here, I realized my passion for costume design was much more than just a fleeting interest. When I was presenting my capstone project (mixing a large jazz ensemble), Kendra expressed that she thought I had a knack for design and wanted to know if I’d want to pursue it further. I was thrilled! It gave me the confidence to decide to do it for real. Since then, we’ve been meeting after work to practice my design skills, her giving me scripts and general direction, me researching and rendering my designs, in order to build my portfolio and get some of the experience I missed during undergrad. In the Fall of 2025, The Clemson Players hired me to design their first show of the season, Antigone. I came away from this experience wanting to design a hundred more shows.

Currently, I work as part of The Brooks Center’s production crew as a general technician with a focus in Audio. The Brooks Center is a roadhouse located on Clemson University’s campus that hosts a variety of touring productions each year. I’ve been able to work with the national Broadway tours of ‘Come From Away’ and 'The Cher Show',  as well as the national tour of ‘Chicago: The Musical’.