We aren’t just researchers here at the Idaho Policy Institute. Get to know the team with a 25 Questions series.
Q: Favorite cereal?
A: Frosted Mini-Wheats
Q: In a team environment, what role do you usually take on?
A: I usually end up as second-in-command because I’m good at funneling ideas and directions between people.
Q: What is keeping you busy these days?
A: In addition to work, studying for the GRE, applying for a Fulbright and dancing with the Oinkari Basque Dancers keeps me pretty busy.
Q: What sport are you best at?
A: I’m best at lacrosse, which I should be since I’ve been playing it for more than ten years at this point.
Q: What are your parent’s occupations?
A: My mom is an elementary school teacher and my dad is a physical therapist.
Q: Farthest you’ve been from home?
A: The farthest I’ve ever been away from home was when I was studying abroad and took a weekend trip to Warsaw, Poland.
Q: Last movie that made you cry?
A: I watched Intersteller for the first time this year and it made me cry.
Q: Three things you could talk about for 30 minutes straight?
A: I could talk about all things Basque, the Broadway musical Hamilton and the importance of women and girls in sports until your ears fall off.
Q: Oddest job?
A: Last summer I worked as a civilian-on-battlefield role-player for the National Guard, where I essentially just hung out in the desert in the middle of military training exercises.
Q: What was the scariest thing to you as a kid?
A: I absolutely refused to go into our basement by myself as a kid because I was too scared of it (I always made my younger sister come with me as a shield).
Q: What did you study for your undergraduate degree?
A: I’m currently in the thick of my undergraduate degree and am majoring in Global Studies with minors in Economics and Spanish.
Q: Something you can’t do?
A: I cannot whistle to save my life.
Q: Last book you read or are currently reading?
A: I’m currently reading The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.
Q: What is your favorite snack?
A: My favorite snack is the winning combination of Cheez-Its, Butterscotch Chips and La Croix.
Q: All-time favorite show?
A: The West Wing, hands down.
Q: What is your favorite sport to watch?
A: My favorite sport to watch in person is professional soccer because the atmosphere is very cool.
Q: Where is your favorite place to eat?
A: My favorite place to eat is my parents’ house, because they’re both really good cooks.
Q: How would your best-friend describe you?
A: Probably as intense, a good listener, driven, and with a sense of humor.
Q: All-time favorite class/professor?
A: My favorite class to this day was my AP Government class in high school with Monica Church
Q: What is your favorite quote and why?
A: I can’t find the exact full quote, but it’s essentially variations of “Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we work for the world as it should be?” because the idea of the world as it is versus the world as it should be shows the value of aspiration while not losing sight of reality.
Q: In elementary school, what activities did you get excited about and what were you best at?
A: I always got excited about peer revision of papers because I liked making my writing better and I enjoyed marking up other kids’ work.
Q: Favorite vacation, real or imaginary?
A: My favorite vacation was when my parents, my sister and I walked part of the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
Q: Favorite place to be?
A: Anywhere in the Idaho mountains or on the Basque coast.
Q: Were you named after anyone?
A: My middle name is Ruth, after my great-grandmother.
Q: If you could sit down with anyone for lunch, who would it be and why?
A: I would have lunch with my parents when they were each my age because I want to know who they were before they were my parents.