Born in 1999, Sandra Brown lived in a small town for most of her childhood. She often found socialization difficult. That, in combination with being home-schooled, led to making few friends in her early years. She spent a large amount of time as a child at the library and reading, as well as playing video games, with a particular fondness for Nintendo. 

In high school, she met her best friend, and through them she was introduced to anime and Japanese culture. These things would become a major influence on the nature of her artwork and the path she would take in her college career. 

After graduating high school and some following brief stints in community colleges, Sandra came to NIU in 2019. She focused on a bachelor's degree in illustration with a minor in Japanese studies. Through the encouragement of her professors in both the world languages and cultures department and the School of Art and Design, Sandra was able to study abroad in Nagasaki, Japan in fall of 2022. She found the experience invaluable, which further influenced her decisions and provided a clearer vision of her future than she had ever experienced. 

After graduation, Sandra plans to further develop her Japanese language skills in order to become a bilingual designer, or illustrator to a Japanese company.