I was born in Washington, DC in 1979 and spent most of my childhood up until I was about 21 growing up in a town in New York called Dobbs Ferry. My dad and I ended up moving out to Arizona in 2000 because the cost of living was much lower there than it was in New York. I spent about 2 years there before I decided to enlist in the Army.
I went to US Army Basic Training in Fort Sill, OK where I was trained to use 105mm Howitzers for about 4 months before moving on to my duty posting in Fort Drum, NY the home of the 10th Mountain Division. In September 2003, my unit was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom for what was to be a 6-month deployment. It later was extended to a 9-month deployment and I returned to the US in April 2004.
Me in Afghanistan in 2004
After my deployment, I spent another 19 months in the Army before I was medically discharged from the Army and returned to AZ for another 2 years. I ended up moving around a bit in 2006, living first in Michigan for about 8 months, before finally deciding to settle in Topeka, KS in 2007 to be close to my brother and his family after he had moved to Lawrence, KS himself to work at KU. This year marks my 10th year as a Kansan. I still miss my old hometown in NY but my dad and sister recently moved to Lawrence as well, so I like being close to my family.
Some of my hobbies are movies, music, video games, sports and as I mentioned before, Japanese culture, specifically anime and manga. Some of my favorite movies are Titanic (I grew up fascinated by the story of the tragic sinking of the ship and the discovery of its wreck by Robert Ballard in the 1980's mesmerized me as a kid and I found myself drawing it often in art class.), Gladiator (Ridley Scott is one of my all-time favorite directors) and the Star Wars movies. Musically, I have a wide variety of tastes from alternative rock to movie soundtracks/scores. Some of my favorite artists are U2, Lindsey Stirling and an independent band from Los Angeles called Eyeshine, who sadly split up this year. Their lead singer was Johnny Yong Bosch, famous for playing the black Power Ranger Adam on Power Rangers and also for his many voice acting roles in anime and video games. They came to play a show in Lawrence in 2013 where I got to meet him and the band and it was one of the most amazing concert experiences I have ever had.
Meeting Johnny Yong Bosch & Eyeshine in Lawrence, 2013
I am a big gamer and I consider it more of a passion than a hobby. I hope one day to be working in the gaming industry as a concept artist or character designer.
Which is kind of why I am going to Washburn. At first, I wanted to pursue a degree in journalism and become a journalist like my father was, but I decided to follow my heart and go for an art degree. This year marks my Junior year at Washburn as part of the fresh start program, which is a big accomplishment for me because I first went to Washburn in 2011 and was not able to continue on to my sophomore year due to low grades.
I am taking Mass Media Boot Camp because I want to minor in Mass Media because I feel majoring in Art and minoring in Mass Media will give me a better chance to make it in the gaming industry or movie industry as well.
Anyway, that is my story. Sorry if it was too long and I am looking forward to making some new friends on campus this year!
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