About Me

Profile

About:

My father David and mother Ellen serve as my role models in life as they are incredibly hard working, fun and loving people. My sister Kristen is one of my best friends and is currently dedicating twenty-seven months of her life to the Peace Corps. She is in South Africa teaching math, history and AIDS awareness and prevention. I have two healthy, loving grandparents that love me no matter what I do. I have an awesome extended family full of amazing people that are always dependable for a good time. My friends from both Albuquerque and UT add even more love and support in my life.
I was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM. Now, I have three homes: Albuquerque, Washington DC (my father is on temporary assignment in the Pentagon) and Austin. I dedicated my life in high school to sports. I loved to compete and enjoyed the camaraderie of being on a team. I decided to leave home for UT because of the city of Austin, big time football, and outstanding academics.
My major is Neurobiology, the result of a long developing fascination with the physiology, the capabilities and the mysteries of the brain. This interest started when my mom battled a brain tumor on her pituitary gland for several years when I was young. I want to attend medical school, and my dream job is to be an orthopaedic surgeon.
In addition to Texas 4000, I’m part of a non-greek fraternity called Texas Wranglers, which is a group of men dedicated to scholarship, leadership, athletic ability, and of course, having fun. I enjoy spending my free time out-doors, whether it be a day at Zilker/Barton Springs or a backpacking trip. I also will play sports whenever I have the chance. I’ve travelled to Mexico, Spain, Ecuador and South Africa and I hope to explore as much of the United States and of the world as possible, as traveling is one of my loves.

Why I Ride

There is no dress rehearsal in life. Now is the time I have on this earth to live a fulfilling, worthwhile life, and I know I won’t have any second chances. My way to feel fulfilled is to live actively rather than passively. By this, I mean making a change in the world and changing the lives of those around me in a positive manner.

The human experience of shock, for example finding out a loved one has cancer, is a unique feeling unlike anything else. There is no avoiding sadness, anger and disbelief, but the feeling of shock is unique because it is relatively short lasting, but can be transformed into longer lasting feelings of motivation, drive, and perseverance if the emotions are bottled in a positive manner. When I found out my grandfather and grandmother were diagnosed, or when I found out my other grandmother, my Aunt Cathy and my best friend’s dad, Dr. Gerald Plost, had died of cancer, I was shocked. I wanted to close my eyes and forget because it overwhelmed me with sadness. But, now all I want to do is bottle my emotions and use it as fuel. Use the fuel to drive me, to make a change. The change I want is to eliminate cancer, so that my children and grandchildren don’t experience the shock of having someone be diagnosed or lost to cancer.

The time to make a push for change now is better than ever, and I am dedicated to living an active life. I have the ability to raise money and make a change in the future of cancer, and I will not stand by and let someone else do it while I wait. I ride to eliminate the feeling of shock experienced because of cancer. I ride for my grandmother, my Aunt Cathy and Dr. Plost who lost their lives, but give me motivation.