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I joined the College of Engineering and Applied Science in June 2025 as a professional academic advisor in the CMU-CU Boulder Engineering Partnership Program. My first six months in this role have been some of the best of my professional career! Prior to working for CU Boulder, I worked for Colorado Mesa University for five years in the campus advising center and one-stop. Before working in higher education, I spent five years teaching seventh-grade social studies. Working with and learning from students is a privilege, and I love supporting and empowering them as they pursue their goals.

I’ve lived in Colorado for my entire life, and I’m grateful to live in such a beautiful place that has so many things to offer. My hobbies include hunting, fishing, hiking, golfing and reading. But my favorite thing in the world is spending time with my wife and two kids.

What have been some meaningful ways in which you have felt welcomed to CU Engineering?

The most meaningful thing that comes to mind is just the level of support I’ve had from those around me during my first six months. The training and onboarding process organized by the Student Support and Advising Services team helped set me up for success. My supervisors, Karen Ganss and Chris Anderson, have consistently checked in to see how things are going and showed genuine interest in the work being done. Being able to attend the SSAS retreat in August was a wonderful way to meet the incredible members of our team as well. It just feels great to work for a university that truly cares for its people and values the work that they do.

Describe one of your favorite traditions.

One of my favorite traditions that my family does takes place on the Fourth of July. Each year, my grandparents host a fish fry where we fry up everything we’ve caught in the spring and summer leading up to the holiday. It usually consists of smallmouth bass, walleye and the occasional catfish, but honestly, there’s not a whole lot of the foods we make that day that aren’t fried. It is a day I always look forward to because it involves delicious food and spending time with the people I care about.

What is an ordinary moment in your life that brings you joy?

This is an ordinary moment that happens basically every day, but there’s just something about those first few seconds when I get to see my family when everyone gets home from their day at work, school and daycare. Seeing the smiles on my kids’ faces and embracing them in a hug is something I’m grateful for every day.

What is a motto or quote that you hold dear and why?

“Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes: failure, most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is.” - Master Yoda

This quote means a lot to me because I’ve always been the type of person to aim for perfection and measure my success by only achieving the desired result. Now that I’m a father, I want my children to see that mistakes are part of being human and that there is more value in the process than the result.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled to and why?

I have to bend the rules a little on this question and pick two places. The first is Yellowstone National Park because I had always wanted to go there and my wife (girlfriend at the time) surprised me with a trip there for my birthday in the summer of 2016. Seeing the landscapes and wildlife up close in our first national park was something I’ll never forget. My second selection is the island country of St. Lucia. My wife and I went there for our honeymoon six months after we got married. We went in March of 2020, and we all remember what was going on in the world at that time. We swam in some amazing pools, lounged on relaxing beaches, and got to do UTV and snorkeling excursions. Thankfully, our trip happened in its entirety before all the shutdowns and closures, and we made it back home safely.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

Something that most people don’t know about me is that I got to attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama as part of a trip organized through my high school in 2009.

Who would you most like to meet and why?

I would love to have the opportunity to meet our country’s 35th President, John F. Kennedy. A lesson on his assassination in my high school U.S. history class is part of what inspired me to become an educator. And after that day in class, my interest in him and his life grew in one of those ways where you can’t really explain it. He was president during one of the most tumultuous and transformative time periods in our nation’s history, and I’d love to hear what he had to say about his life experiences if it were possible.