Brief background/experiences
I grew up in South Jersey and attended a technical high school for drafting. Then I moved to California to study architecture on the west coast for my first years of college. The plan was to go to Mt. San Antonio College, a community college, until I became a California resident and then transfer to Cal Poly Pomona. Upon beginning my studies at Mt. SAC I quickly realized that the type of architecture program offered by Cal Poly was not well suited for me. At this point, I chose to apply to Pratt Institute.

Outside of Architecture I was a member, officer and competitor in SkillsUSA. In high school and during my first year in college in California I competed in Architectural Drafting, placing in the top 10 in the nation in high school and college level competitions. After I decided I had had my fill of competition, I chose to pursue a leadership role, where during my second year I was elected as the Postsecondary State President for SkillsUSA California, and during my third year was elected as the National Postsecondary Parliamentarian for SkillsUSA.

Why you chose your school/program
I chose to look into schools with similar programs to Bauhaus philosophies and ones with artistic programs. I looked into SCI-Arc, Cooper Union and Pratt. I was accepted to Pratt and decided having a wide-spread education between Los Angeles and New York would make for a reasonably well rounded architectural experience. One which many Bachelors Degree recipients will not have.

Architecture interests
I find that in my studies there are many architects who have gotten the most fulfilling experience in their profession by refusing to specialize. For this reason, I hope to work on both commercial and residential projects alike, with an emphasis on natural low carbon footprint designs in both fields. One of the focuses of my studies I hope will be reducing embodied energy in construction. Architects I've found to be most inspiring to me include Santiago Calatrava, Tadao Ando and Luis Barragan.

Other interests
I have been actively involved in SkillsUSA on the local, state and national levels. Also, at Pratt I have undertaken the beginning steps of forming a TOMS Shoes campus organization to promote TOMS Shoes One-For-One movement, a new and exciting entrepreneurial endeavor that offers children all over the world in need of shoes a pair of shoes for each pair sold by the company.