About Me

Profile

About: First comes first: I was born and raised in the awesome city of Austin, Texas, and for that I thank my parents. Austin has allowed me to enjoy the outdoors while also living in a big city. During my childhood I played every sport under the sun, I was involved in scouting, and I also loved making people laugh (none of that has changed with age).
When I spend time in the outdoors, I am awed by the fruits of God’s creation. My travels have taken me to rolling hills of central Italy, the vastness of Alaska’s landscape and the surreal lakes of Boundary Waters on the border of Canada and the US. Each and every one of my trips amazes me and grows my love of nature. The passion that I have for travel and exploration is one of the reason’s I want to join the Navy as a doctor and then serve for the non-profit organization, Mercy Ships.
Being the youngest of three kids in an extremely competitive family, along with my double dose of stubborn, has caused me to push myself as hard as I can my entire life. This ranges from school into sports. I always tried way too hard in sports, and in school just so I could try and beat my older brother and sister. This has had its downsides, but it has also made me very passionate about the things that are dear to me, including the fight with cancer.
Due to my father’s genes and example he set, I have a love of people. I love talking to people I know, or meeting random strangers on the street. If I’m not around people, I get bored. No matter how bad my day is going, I know that there is someone else out there that is having a worse day, so I make it my mission to say something to everyone I run into. There is no telling when a simple hello will turn somebody’s day around. People are always amazed by the goofy and most of the time ridiculous things that I do, but if I can ever do something to make someone laugh or smile, I will do it again. Laughter is the best medicine in the world.

Why I Ride

The summer before my junior year of high school, I was just another kid going through the motions. I was playing high school football, running track, involved in student council, in the National Honor society, working towards Eagle Scout, simply living the American dream. I had been involved in Relay for Life, a cancer fighting organization, my freshman and sophomore year, but my fight hadn’t been personal. I was honestly going through the motions, driven by the culture that surrounded me and the expectations that I felt were placed on me. I did not have a purpose in all of this except to be as well-rounded and polished as I could be, because that’s what matters, right?
In the first month my junior year, around September 12, of 2011, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My world was shaken up a bit. My brother, who happens to be my best friend, had also just left for college in Virginia, leaving me at home without anyone to lean on other than my mom. I honestly didn’t have any close friends because I had gone through high school being the funny little kid that everyone liked, and I hadn’t bothered forming deeper relationships. Every day I would come home from school and watch some ridiculous TV show with my dad. The simple act of laughing together seemed to melt away worries about the cancer, and the powerlessness that I felt. However, as the cancer started to wear him down more and more, I needed more strength to try and help him through the day. I gained some extremely close friends at school through student council, and I became involved in the youth group at a local church. I found community that helped me through what would have been an impossible event. My friends would see Krispy Kreme donuts in my car, and know that I had been to the grocery store. When my mom would get home from work, she would take care of my dad and I would run to get something for dinner. These people let me open up to them, giving me a chance to feel like I wasn’t alone in the fight. If I had to watch over my dad after school one day instead of hanging out with friends or playing sports like most of the other kids my age were doing at the time, I was able to talk to someone the next day in order to feel like a normal kid. Then, on January 20th, 2013, my dad passed away. After the memorial service for my dad, someone told my mom that they had never seen so many teenage boys cry before. That many guys had been placed in my life so that I would not falter. Being surrounded by that much love helped me get through the grief of losing my dad, and showed me how we are supposed to function in this world.
Every person on this planet has their own story, their own experiences, and their own troubles. Sometimes we feel like nobody could understand what we feel. Nobody could relate to our story in any way. This isolation often paralyzes us, encouraging us to push others away, putting ourselves on an island with only our thoughts. Since losing my dad, I have been pushed more and more to share my story. Pledging a Christian fraternity last fall, I was asked to share my testimony, how Christ had moved in my life. I had never shared my story before, and I was honestly terrified. However, I could never have imagined how this event would have played out. I knew what my story was, and what the climax was, but all 200+ college guys in the audience had no idea. As soon as I got to the part where my dad was diagnosed with cancer, you could hear everyone in the room breathing, you could have heard a paper clip drop. It was a powerful moment. In that moment, I realized the incredible gift that I had been given. My story could be an example of hope for those facing dire circumstances and love that is always present, but sometimes feels non-existent. My mission is to show people that their own story has power too.
I don’t want to seem like I am proud of my story, that I’m glad it happened. You couldn’t be further from the truth. I would trade anything in the world to be able to have my dad back, even for one day. You don’t understand how much a person means to you until they are gone. However, since I joined Texas 4000 and first shared my story in BYX, (the Christian Fraternity I joined at UT), I have come to realize that we have two options when we face adversity. We can sit in a room and be sad about what happened or we can go out share our experiences in order to give people hope. I have chosen to honor my dad, honor his memory, and show people that your experiences only make you stronger.
Texas 4000 has been an incredible opportunity to show others who have been affected by cancer the love that was poured into me. But beyond that, Texas 4000 has shown me that everyone around me has struggled, and they all need to know that they are not alone. I am riding to Alaska to raise money for cancer research and support, to provide hope for everyone who needs it and to spread knowledge about cancer testing that could potentially save lives. Please help me in my mission by sharing this with someone who needs hope, by donating to my cause or by getting annual cancer screenings.