About Me

I started working with my hands as a kid in my grandfather's garage. He had a great set of tools and was happy to help or stand aside in whatever way I needed. I don't think I ever saw him with a pocketknife that didn't have the tip clipped off from using it as a standard screwdriver, even after I started buying him multitools.

I spent about eight years in the Army out of high school. There's some politics in that decision for sure, but if you're able-bodied and looking for some structure and life lessons, the military is a decent spot to figure some things out without incurring a mortgage's worth of student debt. I also got some experience working on heavy equipment and improvising the Mad Max modifications (mostly spotlights and armor) people were making to vehicles in the mid-to-late oughts.

I didn't see myself as a career soldier, but the camaraderie and solidarity of the military was and still is a motivator and core value for me. It was a big factor in choosing Mechanical Engineering as a career. I wanted to work on defense contracts and take care of my friends by creating things that worked well.  I was also partially motivated by a grudge against the many, many uncomfortable and frustrating pieces of gear I used as a sweaty, exhausted kid. Since then my feelings on the subject of making war materiel are more conflicted, but I still care about the kids out there getting heat stroke because they're carrying half their body weight.

These days my prime motivator is to carry the torch of engineering knowledge over the long term of my career. There'll always be a need for "stuff," and the processes and body of work that result in efficient, effective end results are always changing and improving. I want to participate in that improvement and do my best to convey those lessons when my career progresses far enough.

I love to be in a room with people hashing out problems. It's a good feeling. And when a team breaks the huddle and goes about doing the homework and eating our vegetables, I want to be someone others trust and rely on. One of the only certainties I've run into over the years is that any difference you can make has to come through the people you're surrounded by.