about
During my childhood I tried my hand at many different physical activities, some more competitive than others. One of the hobbies my father enjoyed, and still does, is fly fishing. I am not sure if his love for fly fishing has worn off on me, or if his love for spending time with his son has caused fly fishing to be an integral part of our interactions. Either way, I do enjoy fly fishing.
You can see I am very excited after having “caught” my first trout in Dry Run Creek. Trying to catch these fish was akin to outsmarting a room of PhD’s. After several days of fishing, I think the fish just took pity on me and took the bait, knowing full well the fishing rules required me to return him unharmed. Needless to say, it was a humbling experience I will not soon forget. |
Another integral part of my childhood was the Boy Scouts of America. My father was often an assistant scoutmaster, accompanying us on many wilderness outings. I won't describe in detail our first camping trip, but it involved a tropical storm, pup tent, and breakfast made for 100 campers while only about 20 stayed through the entire night. I was able to earn the rank of Eagle Scout in 2006 thanks to the continuous support of my family over the more than half decade in the organization.
Gradually I grew into other hobbies and interests that my father was not so enthusiastic over participating in with me. I do have to give him credit; he did try paintball, once. |
Inside of school I participated in several competitive sports, as well as intellectual events. I ran cross country for several years, participated in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), played several parts in school theater, in addition to some sporadic participation in other clubs and organizations.
I was successful in many of the events in large part thanks to my mother and her willingness to invest the resources I needed to participate. She picked me up or dropped me off at difficult hours in order for me to attend some of the events and competitions. I am truly fortunate to have both a mother and father who invested time and other resources to help me succeed. You can see my acting skills on full display in accompanying picture. I am acting out an "inception" type role as the play featured a play within a play within a play, it was hard to follow, even for the participants. I really enjoyed getting into character and relaying both emotion, and information. |
Fast forward to today and you will often find me in the kitchen, cooking up a southern classic or borrowing from France and its illustrious cooking traditions. I really enjoy learning about gastronomy and expanding my appreciation of foods and sensory experiences. One of the things I enjoy most about traveling is trying all the different foods. My general rule of thumb is to try it first, ask what is it later. I enjoy spending time outdoors, and often couple this with my culinary inquiry. You can see my blueberry picking prowess on full display in the accompanying photo. My enthusiasm for cooking vastly outweighs my technical skill. I am not without excuses for my often poor outcomes, however, the difficulty in acquiring unique/high quality ingredients is rapidly being altered by e-commerce; making it more difficult to blame my lack of cooking skills on external factors. |
Changes in marketing methods, such as product distribution systems, targeted advertising methods, and other marketing practices consumers' experience, coupled with my innate curiosity, passion, and desire for knowledge, fuel my engagement in the marketing discipline. I have always been engaged with and curios about marketing practices since i was a child. I experienced Bennie Babies, Pokemon (the original), Furbies and countless other fads in one way or another. I admittedly participated in the Pokemon excitement with several million others.
The one event that truly solidified my marketing engagement and excitement, the wide spread availability of the internet. I was involved with Ebay and E-commerce at a very young age and just became more and more engrossed in the power of the internet. I had several website and built several computers throughout high-school and continue to use those skills today. For more information on my engagement with the marketing discipline, visit my teaching or vitae page. |