I am a person of varied interests who often finds the most difficult step in any of my endeavors is choosing which to do first. I have an aptitude for math and science which inspired me to begin my education working toward a double major in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Technology, but at the core of my intellect there exists a pure love of knowledge which has lead me to complete my under graduate studies with a double major in Political Science and Philosophy. Along the way I have studied networking, computer programming, photography, writing, and even the culinary arts. I have changed majors with each passing semester as I accomplish my learning goal for a topic and another catches my attention. I’ve also done this in my professional life as well. I have held jobs in restaurant management, call centers, retail chains, and even own my own computer repair business and, in my free time, I work as a freelance photographer.
I have now settled down, somewhat, in my education goals and have entered my final year toward completion of my BA in Philosophy and Political Science. I plan to graduate from UNCA this May and if all things go well I hope to begin work on a TransAtlantic Master in Political Science from Chapel Hill. My goal, which should get me accepted into the program, is to complete a total of 55 credit hours at the Junior and Senior level during the course of one calendar year with a 3.3 or better GPA. In addition to this I am working to put together two papers for the Undergraduate Research Symposium, have been an active member of several clubs on campus including the ACLU, Amnesty International, and the Philosophical Society, and have joined HOLA this past fall. In the community I have been involved with a spring break volunteer trip to Hattiesburg, MS to work with Habitat for Humanity, I am a volunteer ESOL tutor with the Literacy Council in Asheville, and I will be going on a volunteer trip to Bolivia over Spring Break. I am hoping that all this combined with a good score on my GRE test will earn me an acceptance letter from Chapel Hill, but if it doesn’t my backup plan is to work toward a Masters in Public Affairs with a focus on Public Policy through Western Carolina University.
I’ve always had a love of entrepreneurship and opened my first lemonade stand in Florida when I was very young. This was not unlike the lemonade stands of many other children except that I would sell paper airplanes when I ran out of lemonade and I worked out a deal with our neighbors who had bananas, grapefruit, and oranges which allowed me to offer other fruits as well. My family owned sub shops as I grew up and I’ve had my own computer business since 1995, mostly working for friends and family with the occasional customer who heard about me. It wasn’t until 2007 that I began to work for myself exclusively. My computer business is doing well enough for now and I am beginning to focus on building my reputation as a photographer. I have begun a project of photographing the waterfalls in the area and have been thrilled to have sold a few of my photographs at the Apple Festival in Hendersonville and through stock photography sites online. This has given me inspiration to move forward with my studies of photography because someone must like my work to have spend their hard earned money. I have also been entrusted by several couples to take their wedding and engagement photos, some of which can be seen in my portfolio.
I have a background in business administration with a focus on local store marketing with shoe string budgets, this has always helped me pay the bills. But I also have a love of knowledge and have studied many varied subjects which have also helped me in unexpected ways. In some ways I am a man of many talents but master of none, yet the one thing that I have mastered is my ability to know what additional knowledge would help me and where to get it. In my opinion that is the corner stone of a life well lived.
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