Background
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in a loving single-parent household where I also enjoyed a close relationship with my grandparents. I attended my local public high school where I was an honor student and a 3-season varsity athlete (soccer, wrestling and track and field). I eventually became the first student from that school to ever be accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where I enrolled as a freshman during the fall of 2003.
During my first year at MIT, I learned about a new college that was setting out to reform engineering education with a focus on project-based learning and an underlying spirit of entrepreneurship and philanthropy. It was called Olin College and their aim was to graduate renaissance engineers with an exemplary technical foundation. Though the school was unaccredited at that time and had only 2 classes enrolled, I was fascinated by the prospect of having the opportunity to play a fundamental role in shaping its future.
After visiting the school several times and becoming enamored with all of the incredibly bright and talented people that I met, I decided to take the risk and restart my undergraduate education, receiving a full-tuition merit scholarship. I went on to become an active member in the tiny 300 person community, serving as a resident advisor, a member of the rugby team and founding a popular club for the appreciation of wine and cheese. I was also able to thoroughly pursue my interests in design and entrepreneurship while receiving a rigorous education in the principles of mechanical engineering.
