Raised in Nashville, TN with Miami-Dade County roots, Schmidt completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Miami from 2014–2017 in Art (Photography), Religious Studies (Monotheism & Gender Studies) and Marketing (Digital Branding) while holding an on campus position as a Transfer Student Advisor as well as co-ed styling, trend forecasting and personal selling for Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. Following completion of her bachelor's degree, she worked as an assistant to artist and collector, Barry Fellman. Based in the Center for Visual Communication located in Wynwood Art District, she oversaw the processing of digital captures and scanned film files, image manipulation and retouching, and proofing photo books for print.

At the conclusion of 2017, she returned to Nashville to accept a position as a high-end retouching specialist for Hudson Yards Studios. She primarily worked on manipulating images for their largest account, Victoria’s Secret. Simultaneously, she desired to return to her preferred practice as a creative and set her sights on furthering her education in fine art. Schmidt was selected and awarded a full scholarship and graduate teaching assistantship in University of Miami’s intensive three-year MFA program to study Photography under the mentorship of J. Tomás Lopez. In her graduate studies, she completed 18+ credit hours of art history at the 600-level including Art Lab at the Lowe, a student curated exhibition [Russia Unframed] under the guidance of Dr. Nathan J. Timpano.

During this time from 2018–2021, which included the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, her graduate exploration was inspired by her time in talk and physical therapy healing, reflecting and navigating trauma and the recent loss of life and love. She used her art practice to explore visualizing motifs she was confronting in her own dream state and psyche: being trapped in a void of darkness. The imagery displays her struggle to find a way out, and her eventual realization that the light she seeks to be set free can only be found within herself. Upon receiving candidacy, Schmidt extended her work from her Miami-based studio practice to the outdoors of great American West during a period of online instructions brought into place by the COVID-19 pandemic. In utilizing 'the decisive moment’ to capture dynamicism in this new environment, she visually shows the juxtaposition of her own metamorphosis to set her soul free. After successfully defending her master’s thesis, a self-curated solo exhibition showcased in the Wynwood Building of the Wynwood Art District, Miami, Schmidt received her final marks of completion and graduated with her MFA in Photography in the Spring of 2021.

In the years following, Schmidt primarily worked as an creative designer and lecturer of photography and graphic design for the University of Miami, Florida Atlantic University, Fairchild Botanical Garden and privately in Miami. Currently, she is focusing her pursuits in the creative space as an fine artist and editorial photographer specializing in the conceptual portrait. In her free time she maintains a disciplined yoga practice, enjoys being outdoors, travels to make images and view master works of art, watches series and films, and sings and dances with her two dogs, Maverick and Kodak.