As the daughter of a career Army soldier and former figure skater, she discovered sport and exercise psychology during her undergraduate years at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she concurrently earned two bachelor degrees – one in Exercise & Sport Science and the other in Psychology. She attended West Virginia University where she also earned a M.S. in Sport Psychology, a M.A. in Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Sport & Exercise Psychology. She is a Certified Consultant of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (CC-AASP), a National Certified Counselor (NCC), and is also listed on the United States Olympic Committee Sport Psychology and Mental Training Registry