My name is Tiffini (Tiff) Bailey and I am originally from Chicago Illinois, but have been in Lincoln, Nebraska on and off for most of my life. I was in the Army for 6 years from 1988-1994. I served in the medical corps and trained at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. After military life, I attended Southeast Community College, then Doane College in Nebraska and earned my BA in Allied Health. I challenged the American Society for Clinical Pathologists board of certification test and became a Clinical Laboratory Scientist. My primary focus has been Clinical Microbiology, Parasitology, and Infectious Diseases. I worked as a clinical lab scientist for years, primarily in the clinical microbiology lab at Bryan Health in Lincoln. For the last 11 years, I have been a teacher at Southeast Community College, teaching for the Medical Lab Technician program (yes the same program I graduated from many many years ago). I absolutely adore teaching and inspiring all those young minds. There is an extreme shortage nationwide of clinical lab scientists and I will do whatever it takes to graduate excellent students in this field.
I am currently 5 courses away from completing my MS degree in entomology. I have always had an interest in insects as my dad is an avid outdoorsman and naturalist. This degree is solely being completed as a personal goal for myself and it is in area where I have great interest. The last degree was to "be employable," but this degree is one I wish to complete simply because I have a love for insects and want to educate other people about their importance and beauty. Additionally, since I teach a course in Parasitology and Microbiology, I also have a great interest in insect disease vectors and hope to work such topics into my courses.
I am a lover of everything outdoors. I have a passion for ultra light backpacking, hunting, fishing, bird watching, sky gazing, insect collecting, exploring, and kayaking. I love dogs and have a beautiful yellow lab named Sage. I have a partner who enjoys the outdoors as well (but she prefers a shower and toilet to roughing it) and I enjoy spending time with her and her 2 kids (14 and 17).