I am a master's student in Geology at Central Washington University. My research applies the Magma Chamber Simulator (MCS) to Mt. Etna, Sicily in order to elucidate the source of temporally-variable geochemical signatures recorded in Etnean lavas from historical to recent times (1329 CE – 2009 CE). I'm particularly interested in an alkali enrichment event evident in lava compositions concomitant with an increase in the explosivity, frequency, and volume of eruptions beginning in 1971. To explain this enrichment event, two major arguments are invoked: (1) contributions from the crust in the form of alkali-rich fluids or melts (e.g., carbonate and flysch assimilation), and (2) a changing mantle source region delivered in the form of mafic recharge, possibly due to increased interaction between the mantle and subduction-related fluids. To test these hypotheses, I am using the MCS to quantify the balance of crustal versus mantle contributions for a suite of these rocks from Mt. Etna, Italy, as well as determining how or if these contributions change as a function of eruption date. When not studying volcanic rocks from Mt Etna, I dream of travel and would like to visit once again the Great Wall of China.