I would be lying if I said I have always liked reading or writing. It took me until college when I found Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea that I really wanted to read more and more. I grew up in Port Orange, Florida and graduated from Florida International University in Miami. From there I went to Alaska and did an Americorps program (that is now defunct) called SAGA. For over five months I lived in a tent, built trails and did other environmental volunteer work. After I finished, I moved to Jinju, South Korea where I met my now wife Laura. After dating until our contracts had expired, we decided we wanted to move back to where Laura had grown-up, in Minnesota. 

While in Minnesota, I worked in another Americorps program where I taught in a school trying to close the achievement gap. When I finished, I decided I wanted to get my Master's in Education from Augsburg College. After doing some odd jobs, and substitute teaching for a year in Saint Paul, Minnesota, we moved out west to San Diego, California, where my wife and I lived for three years. While there I got my certificate in Creative Writing from a local community college (shout out to San Diego Mesa College).

Once the pandemic hit in 2020, my wife and I knew it was time for a change. We didn’t want to pay San Diego prices when we were stuck inside all the time. We moved back to Florida and currently live in St. Pete. This is where I am teaching, writing, and reading now.