| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable early experience was probably my first cruise. It was with my dad's family, including my grandparents, and my two uncles and their families. It was such a great new experience for me because I had never been anywhere tropical before. It took us around the Caribbean, including stops in Grand Cayman, Puerto Rico, Grenada, Dominica, and Belize. I remember Belize vividly. We took a bus tour up into the mountainous jungle and learned a lot about the wildlife, and then ended up zip-lining down through the jungle back toward the ship. That was easily one of the most fun experiences of my childhood. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I identify with my father in a few ways. I think I am much more like my father than my mother in terms of personality, as we are both fairly technical people. My dad, being a chemical engineer, is also part of the reason I am studying materials science and engineering in school. He helped inspire my interest in chemistry and now we are also able to bond by having knowledgeable conversations about our fields. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | One trait I like to see in people is the ability to try new things. I love gaining new experiences, good or bad. I think a lot of people assume they will not like something, or are even too shy to try certain things, but if they really think about it, when there is nothing on the line but their own comfort there is really no reason not to try a new food, activity, or anything else. Another similar trait that I admire is the ability to set aside instinct to make important decisions. Some people make hasty decisions because they go with their gut feeling when they could have analyzed a problem and come to a much more sound conclusion. Being a technical person, I try to think about pros and cons more than how I feel at a given time. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | One of the funniest things that has happened to me in recent memory was over a spring break, when a few friends and I road tripped to go camping. One night we stayed on the edge of a lake, and were woken up by the sounds of duck calls. They started to get louder and louder and pick up in numbers, until it sounded like a huge commotion, but I figured it was just the lake wildlife waking up and I went back to sleep. That's what I thought, anyway, until we opened the tent door a couple hours later. Our campsite was a mess, and there were empty containers everywhere. Apparently we had left out some of our food that had attracted some visitors. It was a lesson learned, but now whenever I think about a bunch of frenzied ducks raiding our camp I crack a smile. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | There are many places I want to go, but I think the one that I'd like right now is Italy. I have never been to the Mediterranean, and I think of all of the countries that surround it, Italy intrigues me the most. The food is amazing, the nature beautiful, the climate perfect, and I've heard they have some great rock climbing, too. I would love to try deep water soloing on the Mediterranean. With as many positives as that, I'd say it tops my list. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | If I could pass on anything, it would be my love for adventure and experiences. Some people have the misconception that introverts are closed off and stuck in a life of routines, but it isn't true. Like many introverts, I enjoy my alone time and like to work on certain things. Truthfully, I was also very shy as a child. However, that certainly doesn't mean I can’t get a kick out of a fairly action-packed lifestyle. I would like to pass on the knowledge to my offspring that one doesn't have to be limited by personality traits, and that it is good to try new things whenever possible, even if (especially if) you’re scared to for some reason. |
