About Me
Experience everything. At home everywhere.
My journey has been one of discovery, and it’s just getting started. I love traveling to new places, exploring new cultures, and discovering new horizons. The value of this has granted me so much personal development. In my free time, I enjoy finding local flavors with my long-term girlfriend and our dog, and exploring different cultures through cooking. I come from a long line of farmers, so I always try to have a garden where I can eat fresh.
Originally from Pennsylvania, I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Penn State. This taught me the value of understanding and that everyone has their own path. While their path may be different from yours, or different from the traditional path, they should still be respected, understood, and accepted. I eventually ended up in the wine field, and moved to Washington D.C. for winemaking. This gave me an appreciation for nuance and fine arts. It was also a great opportunity for business to business networking. During my time here, my greatest achievement was creating and running Dog Days of Summer on the Woof-top, a series of events that partnered with a local animal shelter. We raised $1,317 in a month, and got multiple dogs adopted into loving families. I later moved down to Fuquay-Varina, NC, and worked with a few different breweries until becoming a Sales Representative. It gave me great exposure into Sales, Events, Marketing, Digital Marketing, Business Strategy, Analytics, Graphic Design, and Business Coordination. I have since furthered my personal and professional development with a UX Design Certificate from Google, Extended Reality for Everyone Certificate through the University of Michigan, as well as Social Media Management and Design classes from a varying array of providers.
For the Visual Learners….
Here I am with my girlfriend Patrice, and our dog Fitzpatrick. We rescued “Fitz” from Raleigh, NC. He enjoys being a vocal center of attention. He can be the sweetest guy, but only if you have cheese. Large dogs, especially rescues, have a special place in my heart.
Patrice and I spent a week in Colorado in 2021. We absolutely loved it, despite it trying to kill us multiple times. It’s absolutely beautiful, and I highly recommend visiting. You might want to consider going when it is warm to avoid the snow though! We experienced 2 snow storms and a wildfire, plus a myriad of other treacherous situations in the 5 days we were there.
We also spent a week exploring California in 2022. We went out for a wedding, and then got to see Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, Napa Valley (being a wine guy, this was my favorite part of the trip), some amazing sights going up Route 1, and San Francisco, before ending the trip with a charcuterie board watching the sun set over the Pacific!
If you have never seen the leaves change in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I HIGHLY recommend it. In the fall of 2022, we were lucky enough (i.e. I perfectly planned it so that…) to see the absolute peak change. It was so amazing to see the micro-climates and the different post-peak, peak, and pre-peak colors looking down the mountains.
The trip that literally changed my life. In summer of 2018, we spent 2 weeks roaming Italy (pun intended). I had never been outside of Pennsylvania’s surrounding states. This trip was a dream come true. The cultures, the food, the history, the sense of freedom. Every day was an absolute blast.
As a UX Designer, I think everyone should take trips like this, and just experience something so totally out of their own world. We need a shake up like this every once and a while, so we remember that there are lives outside of our own little bubbles.