I’m a very lucky man. I have a job I love, working with students I adore, and partnering with brilliant, big-hearted educators to do it.

I was a first-generation college student, coming from a very low-income family in a rural community. Because of all that, when I arrived at Michigan State University as a freshman in 2003, I felt like a small fish in a very big pond. I let my academic success suffer because I was afraid to ask questions or get help, fearing that I would be found out and everyone would learn I had no business being at this fabulous university.

I was wrong.

But I wasn’t alone. First-generation students often feel this way.

My work as an academic advisor, instructor, and servant leader is centered on one simple idea: help students become the leader and learner they seek to be. This looks different for each individual student so we can’t rely on any one cookie-cutter approach.

When I’m not working, I’m living my best introverted life. I am an avid baker (cookies and cakes are my specialties). I love reading and visiting my local library. I’m an amateur genealogist. I enjoy sending cards and letters to those I love, finding it much more fulfilling that most social media.

I’m a life-long learner and a proud nerd.