| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable childhood experiences seemed pretty ordinary at the time. I look back fondly on little things, like playing baseball with my friends, or spending each and every summer at the pool. I remember how my mom would read to me every night before bed, no matter how tired she was from work, and how my dad would tussle my hair as I sat at the kitchen table working on my homework. A habit that he continued even as I worked on my bachelors thesis at the age of twenty two. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I identify equally closely with my mom and my dad. My mom had a career I admired, and my dad had several achievements to look up to. They each taught me different things. My mom taught me to challenge myself, to work hard and to strive to make the world a better place. While my dad taught me to care for others, the importance of making others laugh, and to always stand up for what is right. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I admire individuals, people who are unafraid to be themselves. People who are kind, who care for others, and who stand up for what is right. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | My best friend and I have known each other for about seventeen years. I'm sure you can imagine how many inside jokes form in that many years. When I was out celebrating graduating from college, he told me a joke we used to tell each other as little boys. I don't think I've ever laughed that hard. It wasn't even the joke, it was all the memories it brought back. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I was an Eastern European and Central Asian Studies minor in college. I'd like to go to Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. I think after spending two years of my life studying the region, I'm due for a visit. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I can't wait to be a dad, but I know that I may not have children for another ten or even twenty years. I don't know what the world they will grow up in will be like, but I will try to pass on to them the values my parents passed on to me. To be kind, to stand up for themselves and for others, and to know the difference between right and wrong. |
