| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | Oddly enough, my most memorable childhood experience was discovering Santa wasn't real at three years old. I was always very logical from a young age. At three, I was told and understood that my family had an alarm system. I shouldn't open windows or walk around downstairs at night because the alarm would go off and it does that to keep us safe. Well, I realized that Santa therefore would have to not exist because if he did, he'd set off the alarm. To this day I still distinctly remember this process, but I cannot explain why I pretended for the next two years that Santa was real for my parents. Most likely for the cookies and milk! |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I most closely identify with my grandfather. In his life he wasn't given all that much, but he worked hard every day to grow, learn, and find new opportunities. He worked for everything he had, but never once let it bring him down or lose faith in the world. To this day he is one of the healthiest and most positive people I know. In my life, I try to emulate him as much as I can and I have found that striving to be more positive while also being confident in achieving my goals has propelled me to jumpstart my career and future very early. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I most admire assertiveness, a sense of humor, and trustworthiness. In both individuals who I work with and who work for me, there is nothing more admirable than being assertive. Being able to be confident and direct in messaging is so important to good and effective communication. Those who are assertive stand out most amongst any group. Additionally, humor is very key. Being able to break a silence, laugh off something negative, or cheer up someone when they are having a bad day are incredible skills that foster long-lasting and healthy relationships. Finally, trustworthiness may be the most important. Often being trustworthy requires the more difficult route. When things get hard, it is easy to lean towards the easier path. However, once trust is broken it can never be rebuilt. Those who remain trustworthy are very admirable for taking the tougher road and are rewarded for this by having greater connections and bonds. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | It wasn't funny at the time, but when I was young, I had a very large ice cream cone. One that was so overfilled that its incredible that it can stay in the cone. While I was eating it, a friend said to me, "They probably give you that much because they expect you to drop it and then buy more." I responded by emphatically saying "NO," and the moment I did, I stepped on a stair and fell backwards causing the whole scoop to pirouette, hit me on the head, and fall intact onto the ground. At this moment, I picked up the scoop, and with ice cream running down my hand, held it up and yelled, "Why?" Luckily the server saw this whole travesty unfold and was willing to refresh my cone, but this time with a backup cup! |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would travel to Antarctica. It is the one continent I have never travelled to, and I must go to round out my list! I think it would be an incredible and very exciting adventure to see a totally different side of the world that so few ever get to experience in person. The elements are a concern, but luckily, I have some good parkas! |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I'd like to pass on the ability to be a freethinker. When I was young, my parents did not try and dictate my view of the world. It allowed me to explore my curiosity and form my own perspectives and opinions. This process allows me to be very empathetic and understanding of different positions and how to compromise. I would want this for my children to be both very well rounded in their world view, but to also be able to understand and work well with others instead of being forced into a viewpoint that may be outdated or just a bad fit for them. |
