Colleen is a creative writing student at Southwest Minnesota State University. She is also a member of SMSU English Club, a contributor and staff member to SMSU Perceptions (a yearly literary magazine), a member of the SMSU French Club, and she served as the vice-president of SMSU's gay-straight alliance (GLBTA) during the 2011-2012 academic year. She expects to graduate with her bachelor's degree in English in the winter of 2013 and may pursue a master's in library science.

Outside of academia, Colleen is a short story writer and is attempting to write a novel. She hopes one day to be published.

In her free time, Colleen studies French and dabbles in sewing and knitting.