| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | While learning the trumpet in middle school, I was given a solo to perform in concert, but my nerves kept messing me up. My band director told me if I could focus just on the music and block everything out, I would be able to do as well as I can with no audience. He also gave me an incentive that he would push me around the school on a roll chair for day (I was recovering from a knee injury at the time) if I did it perfectly. I succeeded and had one of the best experiences of my life being chauffeured around for a day. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | My mother has always been an inspiration for me and was always there for me growing up when I needed help in school and with friends. She and I are the most similar too compared with the rest of my family as she is very inquisitive and thoughtful. I love discussing things with her to this day and still seek out her advice. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I admire those who listen first before speaking, as that is something I value in myself. I also take note of how people support one another and value those who uplift those around them. Punctuality is also a very important aspect, which manifests itself in many ways. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I was in my college apartment and one of my roommates had just brought over a new girl. I was trying to make a gumbo and was stirring a pot of really hot rue. I added in the chili peppers and the smoke that came off carried with it this plume of capsaicin (the chemical that makes your mouth burn). It wasn't long before I heard them both in their rooms coughing up a storm until they couldn't handle it anymore and had to flee the apartment. Funny thing is, they had just evacuated her apartment because the smoke alarms had gone off from a roommate burning something in the oven, so they were forced to do something outside which ended up being a great date. They are married now. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would travel to the other side of the universe and see what exists out there. Though I am interested in the nature and people of this planet, I have always looked at the stars with such wonder. It's one of the last frontiers we know effectively nothing about. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I would like to pass on to them a feeling of excitement and wonder for the world and a feeling that they can fail and use that as a learning experience rather than disappointment. I would want them to keep questioning and improving themselves, and to find a passion that can help others live their lives better. |
