Description

Personality

Karen is bubbly and outgoing. She gets along with other people very easily, although it is not uncommon for people to become annoyed with her seemingly boundless optimism and carefree attitude. In truth, Karen is a lot more judgmental than she first appears. She tends to deal with stress by clinging forcibly to her optimism, and she can react very violently if she feels as if someone is threatening her sunny outlook.

Karen can also come across as lazy, as she prefers to avoid responsibility and would greatly prefer playing cards and drinking beer to doing any, you know, actual work. A running joke is that people pray she doesn't have to actually substitute for the pilot, or, god forbid, the commander.

History

Education - completion of primary education (elementary, middle and high school)
Bachelor's from Stanford University, California in Biology
Masters in Micriobiology from Stanford University

Karen was born on a farm in Iowa to a large family with four older brothers and three dogs. She grew up happily, without any major complaints, except for the fact that the farm was quite isolated and she didn't have any children her own age to play with. Karen therefore made it her life goal to have a lot of friends, a goal that she accomplished in high school by being the most cheerful and pleasant person around. Karen has continued this persona ever since, sometimes hiding significant bouts of depression and insecurity behind a smiling face. During her bouts of depression, Karen has sometimes struggled with alcohol, although she hasn't gone overboard since her college days.

Karen is a bio-geek, so she received her bachelor's and master's in biology from Stanford. She also has a fascination with flight, having racked up her 1000 hours of flight with complete and utter joy. Karen had a relatively easy and uneventful young adult life, with her biggest problem being that she could never seem to keep a boyfriend for longer than six months due to her own wandering attentions as well as her busy schedule. This has sometimes led her to wonder whether she is "missing something" or "incomplete" but mostly, she just isn't that interested in being in a relationship with another person.

Karen really struggled with the decision to embark on the mission to Mars, because she would have to leave her family. Eventually, she decided that this was an unprecedented experience and an important chance to be a part of history. So far, Karen has enjoyed her experience aboard the Lewis and Clark.