Almost-Dr. Hoyda was born and raised in the far-west suburbs of Chicago, attended Hillsdale College in Michigan, and has since been working toward her doctorate in Cincinnati (thus completing the Midwest trifecta). Her doctoral dissertation, which she will defend later this summer, examines the relationship between language skills and resting state neural connectivity in preschool and school-age children via neuroimaging. Miss Hoyda has always had a love for teaching, including her time as a TA and an adjunct faculty member during graduate school. Although the fall of 2023 will be her first time teaching at the middle school level, Miss Hoyda is eager to continue her pursuit of truth in the sciences – this time through the lens of middle schoolers’ eyes. Outside of the classroom, Miss Hoyda is both a cellist and trombonist. Come see her as the assistant principal trombonist in the Cincinnati Brass Band!