I
often get asked about how I got into racing or my career. I suppose
because it is not common for a girl, that people wonder. And that is part
of the reason why I got into it.
It all started in high school. I was not raised
by my biological father but we got to enjoy going to the races starting in my
high school years. I grew up in Eureka, CA, some 9 plus hours from
Laguna Seca Raceway, and even too far from the closer
Sears Point Raceway for some to
consider it a weekend trip. But none the less, we went. We
volunteered as Course Marshals for the
San Francisco region of the Sports Car
Club of America. It was while attending one of our events at Sears Point
Raceway that I discovered my own high school's racing team, Eureka High School Motorsports. I joined and spent 3 years with the team, and with the
suggestion of my mother to learn valuable trades in high school, I took two
years of auto shop.
When considering college and a career, since I was really into drawing and cars,
I decided I would draw cars for a living. Having since learned that you go
to art school for that, I now have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and test
cars instead, semi trucks to be exact. But no regrets.
In college I was a two year member of the
Society of
Automotive Engineers Mini Baja team and my senior project was a human-powered
vehicle built to compete in the
Kinetic Sculpture Race, an event I grew up
watching in my hometown.
A
few years after college, and well into my first automotive industry job, I was
offered the opportunity to join a desert truck racing team,
RumbleGoat
Racing. It was at a time when I was getting to know the rock crawling and
4x4 wheeling crowd in the Pacific Northwest and I quickly learned that I liked
the high speed racing much more than the slow, go anywhere crawling. After
a few more years passed, and I was at a crossroads with vehicles, I decided on a
Ranger prerunner as a daily driver. Over the next few years I developed
great relationships and networks in the off road and racing communities which
led to other opportunities you can find in the menu to the left. And
finally in 2012, I decided to compete in the Ranger myself, in short course
racing.
With the inception of Trophy Girl Designs, and my ever growing number of
experiences in off roading and racing, I've found my home. I feel like
everything I've done in my life has led me to where I am and I am forever
grateful to many people for that.
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