I was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in June of '85. I graduated from Tuloso-Midway high school as part of the class of 2003. I'm currently in my 2nd year at UT, undergoing my 6th or 7th change in major. As of now I'm undeclared, but I hope to be accepted into the college of communications by spring '05 so I can pursue a degree in communication sciences and disorders. Aside from studying, I like swimming, climbing, and eating food.

One might examine my life and say, "Hey, that dude hasn't been personally affected by cancer." True, I'm one of the lucky ones who can say he has not lost a relative to cancer in his lifetime, but that doesn't make the severity of it any less real to me. A school friend with whom I still talk lost his own mother to cancer when he (and she) was very young. Regardless of his loss, he continued to graduate as valedictorian of our high school class, and currently studies biomedical sciences. To me, it takes real strength to maintain that kind of hope and perseverance while also having a wacky sense of humor that no one can hate. My swimming coach from Corpus Christi has fought cancer for years. Her passion for life and coaching motivates her to overcome it, which is truly inspiring. My hope is to impact the lives of thousands of people, just like these two have impacted mine.