| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | When I was eleven, our house burned down while our family was away. We had spent the last six years building it. We lost essentially all of our possessions. I lost a baseball card collection and a video game system that I'd worked an entire summer to earn. My father lost negatives and equipment from a twenty year photography career. Building the house taught me and my siblings what hard work is, how to face it, and how to thrive in it. Losing our home and all our possessions taught me that things are just objects, not the center or my life or cause for deep, abiding emotional attachments. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I identify most closely with my father. He is a kind and loving man who continues to amaze me. He loves the outdoors and adventure like I do and he has taught me what hard work and loyalty can produce. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I admire honesty, integrity, resilience and responsiveness to the needs of others. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I was taking a nap on the grass at the park with my sister. I woke up suddenly because I felt something crawling down my shirt. I freaked out and tore off my shirt and ran shirtless until I got to my house. It was a spider. I'm not fond of spiders... |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would travel the world. I've visited most of South America, so Europe is next on the list. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I hope to pass on my love for science, books, literature, music, nature, and animals. |
