ACADEMIC LIFE

I spent my undergraduate years at Murray State University in Murray, KY. I enjoyed my four years there and stayed busy with various student activities. I played in the Murray State Racer Band, gave tours as a Student Ambassador, and was actively involved in the Murray State Honors Program and the Euclidean Math Club. One of the highlights of my undergraduate experience was my study abroad experience in Regensburg, Germany. The summer after my junior year I did research at an REU at the Oklahoma Weather Center. I graduated in May 2002 with a B.A. Honors Diploma in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science. That summer I spent time participating in EDGE, a summer program for women pursing graduate degrees in mathematics.

After spending most of my life in Kentucky, I decided to check out Texas. I spent two years at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.  After receiving my Master's in May 2004, I decided it was time to move closer to home for a while. 
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My final years as as student were spent in Carbondale, Illinois at Southern Illinois University. In the summer of 2006, I participated in the Graduate Math Program. After three busy years studying graph theory at SIU I received my Ph.D. under the direction of Dr. Walter Wallis in May 2007.
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I am now a Professor of Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Southwestern University. I served as chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science from 2015-2018 and had a two year appointment as co-chair of Southwestern's Transformed Paideia. I am currently the holder of the Jack and Camille Garey Endowed Chair in Mathematics and began my role as Director of Paideia in Fall 2024. In 2020 I was named the co-director of the EDGE summer program. I stay busy teaching my classes, continuing my research, and participating in the campus community. My book co-authored with W.D. Wallis Magic Graphs came out in 2012. 


FAMILY

I was born in central Kentucky and lived most of my young life in and around Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I have an older sister and a younger brother and seven awesome nieces and nephews. My parents and both of my siblings' families still like in Kentucky and I always look forward to visiting them. I currently reside in Georgetown, Texas with my husband and favorite person, Michael, and our cat, Birthday Cat Grishmarr. Michael and I met in February 2015, got engaged July 19, 2015, and got married March 13, 2016. We love traveling together, eating delicious food, and playing games.

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TRAVEL

You can follow along as my husband and I travel the world here:
grishmarrvelousadventures.blogspot.com
Adventures thus far: Peru, Toronto/Niagara, Central Europe, Morocco, London, Thailand, Hawaii, US National Parks, Greece, Iceland, Portugal

You can also read about some vacays I took before I met my husband here:
whereintheworldisali.blogspot.com
Locations: Alaska, Belize, Vancouver, France, Indonesia, Cancun, Northeast US, Scandinavia
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RUNNING 

In about 2011, I started running for fun/exercise. I first started training with my neighbor and friend, Amanda and then trained at Rogue Running for a period of time. Since I started I have run a handful of 5Ks, a few 10Ks, 10 half-marathons, and 1 full marathon. Some times (for my records):

April 27, 2014: Texas Wine Series, Becker Half Marathon, 2:34:25
October 4, 2014: Bournemouth Half Marathon, UK, 2:11:57
January 18, 2015: Star Wars Half Marathon, DisneyLand, 2:26:19
February 15, 2015: Austin Marathon, 4:59:01
January 24, 2016: Austin 3M Half Marathon, 2:13:25
February 12, 2017: Galveston Half Marathon, 2:31:02
May 20, 2018: Hackney Half, UK, 2:07:54
June 20, 2019: Missoula Half, 2:12:45
September 15, 2019: Santa Fe Thunder Half, 2:15:46
December 8, 2019: Holiday Half (Portland, OR), 2:08:19
April 16, 2022: La Jolla Half, 2:25:04
February 11, 2023: Katy Half, 2:10:45
February 3,2024: RunSedona, 2:21:43

SAXOPHONE

I've been playing the saxophone since the 7th grade. I played all through middle school and high school, was a member of the Racer Band at Murray State, and played with the John A. Logan Community Band and Swingin' Seniors while I was in grad school at SIU. Now, when my schedule allows I play with the Southwestern University Wind Ensemble. We have at least one concert a semester.