Introduce yourself:
I might have to credit Hannah Montana for my earliest start in writing. It was after watching this series that I decided I needed to start a band and thus write my own music. While my initial start may have been an array of unfinished songs, I soon realized my love for writing was far more diverse. As an undergraduate at the CUNY College of Staten Island, I had the pleasure of taking various writing courses which further developed my voice. It was in this writing voice that I found my confidence. Oftentimes before people meet us, they meet our words. In my own teaching, which ranges from middle school all the way to college and sometimes post grade, I seek to instill the importance of writing and how you can show up in your own unique way through this. When one finds their writing voice, the possibilities are endless.
Fun Facts:
- I once met Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones at a local shop in Jamaica. At the time I was younger so my Rolling Stones knowledge wasn’t very extensive. My dad and I found ourselves looking at different trinkets in a display case when this man, who to me resembled what I’d imagined Jack Sparrow’s dad from the Pirates of the Caribbean would look like, came by us. The topic of brands came up, and the man noted that he had a of his own, “the Rolling Stones baby,” (in his own words). He was super friendly, and my dad was over the moon but I had no idea I was meeting a legend.
- I’m really double jointed in my thumbs(it’s a little scary). My friends and I always joke because when I give someone a thumbs up it looks like I’m trying to hitch a ride.
- I made my TV debut in 2022 on a show called Raw Music Urban Sessions. I had the opportunity to film a full segment where I performed songs from my album and discussed my journey in music. Something that was a sentimental moment on set was that the mom of a former classmate of mine was actually a camera technician on the show, and she actually Facetimed her son while we were on set to note what a small world it truly is.
Pop Quiz:
If I were a dean of admissions this is an essay prompt that I'd want students to answer: If you were to look at life as a glass of water, is it half empty or half full? Explain your viewpoint and how it is relevant to your own experiences.
What do you spend too much time doing? I spend more time than I probably should deep diving on cases(unsolved, cold, you name it!).
If you knew then what you know now.....I would have have spent more time pursuing the things I naturally gravitated to when I was younger(such as music/the arts) rather than trying a bunch of different things I thought would look cooler(such as trying out for Varsity basketball with little to no basketball experience- humbling to say the least!)