I grew up in Lake County and attended Lake Zurich High School. I received my Bachelor's degree from Indiana University Bloomington, and graduated with a certificate in business from the Kelly School of Business and was accepted into the National Criminal Justice Honor Society.

I attended law school at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago and graduated at the top one-third of my class from. In addition to my Juris Doctor degree from John Marshall Law School, I received a Certificate in Trial Advocacy.

Early in my legal career I have had substantial courtroom experience. I have been a Supreme Court 711 intern at the Lake County States’ Attorneys’ Office on two separate occasions. I conducted several DUI trials and Statutory Summary Suspension Hearings for the office’s traffic division.

I also had the opportunity to handle several child support enforcement cases for the office’s child support division. This experience taught me how to develop an effective courtroom presence and about the level of preparation required to be a trial attorney.

In the fall of 2011, I was a judicial extern for the Honorable Samuel Der-Yeghiayan of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. By working in the courthouse, I have become exposed to a variety of different legal issues.