| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | Growing up, I loved sports. I fell in love with baseball in particular. I was never amazing at the sport but I had great hand eye coordination so generally speaking I could catch the ball when in the field, and make contact with the ball at bat (I played second base and bat 5th in the lineup). We had this one game that, while I don't remember all the details, was against our "rivals" and was going to be difficult. We were down by a run, in the final inning, two outs, with a man on second (very much your classic Disney sports movie). It was my turn to bat. I learned this after the fact, but my coach had signaled for me to bunt the ball. The idea was that I could make contact with the pitch and was fast enough to get on base (my coach thought the guy behind me was more likely better equipped to end the game). I completely missed this signal and I went on to hit the single best hit of my short childhood baseball career. The pitch was thrown, and I made CONTACT with the ball. I was too small to hit any home runs, and I never had before but this ball absolutely soared. As I'm running to first base, I watch the ball hit the bac As I'm running to first base, I watched the ball hit the back fence in the outfield, which was the furthest I had ever hit it. Because this was little league, the ball was basically too far away for the outfielders to throw it to any of the bases and I ended up with an inside the park home run. This is the part that I really remember: After I stomped on home plate, I was swept up by my entire team and carried back to the dugout as they cheered and chanted my name. This was especially impactful because I was on the more quiet side as a kid so I wasn't exactly popular on the team. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. I even remember my parents being exceptionally proud after watching this event take place. This is certainly one of the most positive, memorable moments of my childhood. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I'm honestly incredibly close with all of my family members. Growing up I was very much the "big brother". I would help my little sisters with really anything they needed and they looked up to me. That being said, I think I'm closest with my littlest sister. We think in the same ways and because of that it is incredibly easy for us to talk to each other. She will often come to me for advice and she knows that I won't lie to her and will speak from my life's experiences. She respects that about me. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | Humor, adventure, and a thirst for knowledge. Humor makes someone easy and fun to talk to, adventure makes them interesting to hangout with, and a thirst for knowledge makes for good intellectual banter and continuous learning. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I don't know if this is the funniest thing ever but it's in my top ten. I was in a Walmart with my girlfriend and we were waiting in line to check out. We were just quietly chatting to each other and a little kid came by and let out a loud musical "LAAAA" in very much a little kid fashion but because he was so young he hit an incredibly high note. It was amazing. All I could do was look at my girlfriend and say: "did you hear that note he just hit" and two other people in the line started cracking up. This is very much a "you kinda had to be there" story but I think about it often because it still makes me chuckle. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would likely sail around the Mediterranean. I've always wanted to explore that part of the world and what better way to go about the Mediterranean then via boat. Additionally the surrounding countries are home to some of the best wine regions in the world. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | Intelligence, altruism, and respect. Intelligence is important because you need to have the proper tools in order to succeed. Altruism and respect build character to produce a truly good individual. |
