| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable childhood experiences were spent playing on my grandparents’ farm with my brothers and cousins. I remember riding our bikes down the mountainside looking for my grandfather's escaped pigs and fishing for shrimp in the local brook that ran through the property. I remember the brown-maned horse that only the big kids could ride. To be fair, I did about as much bike riding as spending time under a tree reading a book, but it was still always just amazing to take in the open space. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I identify most with my mother's grandfather. He was always a patient and kind man and was constantly reading. He was a farmer but was extremely perceptive, worldly, and intelligent in unconventional ways. When he was alive, people looked to him for advice because he was calm, fair, and honest. In a lot of ways though we did not look alike, my family says they see some of these traits in me, which pleases me, as he and I were very close. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I admire honesty, empathy, and fairness. I think it is important for a conscientious individual to be able to look through other people's perspectives to truly understand what they are going through. Though we all can go through periods of stress and anxiety, the people who can shine through with a thoughtful and caring regard for other individuals really inspire me. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I got lost in Prague during a school trip when I was in high school with one of my chaperones (a teacher) during the summer before my senior year. We had been sightseeing and misjudged when it would get dark. We were lost for an hour before a group of rowdy ravers popped out of a club. Feeling bold and tired, and against the wishes of my teacher, I walked up to them said I'm lost and asked them if they knew the name of a hotel. They did not speak English, but upon hearing the name of the hotel they burst out yelling and started leading me down the street, dancing nonstop with my teacher reluctantly in tow. Ok, I was also dancing, but the point was, they dropped us right in front of our hotel with the coolest story of the night and disappeared, partying away into the night. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would travel to New Caledonia. I consider myself an amateur ornithologist/herpetologist, I love going bird and reptile watching and just hanging out in nature. New Caledonia is where I would go because I am obsessed with the landscapes in the South Pacific in particular, nearby New Zealand and Australia are great examples of this, but New Caledonia hosts extremely biodiverse fauna and landscapes. It is home to the some of the smartest birds in the world, such as the New Caledonian Crow, which I would love to be able to watch. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | If I ever have children, I will want them to learn to have empathy and critical thinking skills. With these two skills I believe they will be undoubtedly successful in whatever they choose to do. I think people need to search for their passion and work towards their goals and as a parent, my goal is not to direct what my child's goals are going to be, it is to help them be equipped with the tools necessary to pursue any goal they desire. By developing critical thinking, children can moderate their emotional responses as well as their logical thinking and use these skills to organize their thoughts and desires into clear goals. Empathy allows you to be an emotionally holistic individual. Children need to be able to empathize with others to share relationships and effectively socialize in the world. I would pass to my children my time and understanding, I think these go way more into developing the individual. |
