Dr. Hoyda was born and raised in the far-west suburbs of Chicago, attended Hillsdale College in Michigan, and will soon finish her doctorate in Cincinnati (thus completing the Midwest trifecta). Her doctoral dissertation, which she will defend this fall, examines the relationship between language skills and resting state neural connectivity in preschool and school-age children via neuroimaging. Dr. Hoyda has always had a love for teaching, including her time as a TA and an adjunct faculty member during graduate school, but has found that classically teaching middle school science is the most fulfilling and entertaining. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Hoyda is a cellist and trombonist. Come see her in the Cincinnati Brass Band!