I was initially trained as a cultural anthropologist at the University of the Philippines, where I received my BA in Anthropology. Although archaeology has brought interest in my intellectual pursuit ever since I learned to browse and tear pages of every Encyclopedia that I get hold of, my formal training in the field of understanding the past did not start until I was accepted at the Anthropology graduate program of the University of Hawaii and awarded funding by the East West Center and the Asian Cultural Council.

In the summer of 2007, I completed fieldwork for my landscape archaeology dissertation research in the Ifugao Rice Terraces. I was fortunate to receive funding from the National Science Foundation and the Henry Luce Foundation to carry out this phase of my study.

This research interest has provided me with training in GIS and a variety of mapping techniques. It has also opened the path to a more nuanced view of human-environment interaction.

Currently, I am in the process of completing my Ph.D. Dissertation concerned with the analysis of the Ifugao Rice Terraces.