Hi! If you're reading this then you're probably looking for a little insight into who I am. Whether you're here as a potential employer or just a friend stopping in to say hi, I hope you like what you see!
HIGH SCHOOL
I attended Sprague High School in Salem, Oregon from 2012-2016. During this time I had a set of favorite classes that directed me down the path I'm on now. Over my four years at Sprague I passed 5 AP exams, but I got a perfect 5 out of 5 on my AP Calculus AB exam. My teacher for this class taught me not only what it takes to be good at calculus and why that matters, but what it takes to be a good person; to never stop learning new things and using those things to teach others. But this wasn't my only formative class. Along with math, fine arts sat within my pantheon of important subjects. I sang in at least one choirs all four years and performed in musicals and plays during my last two. In my senior year of high school, I discovered there was a class that focused on the intersection of arts and science: art history. Philip Nickel spent the year teaching me and my classmates about how to look at art, what to look for, and what to take from it as a viewer. This class completely changed how I looked at the world, and I still find myself getting lost in thought whenever I see a pillar in a building and wonder, "is that a column or a pillar? Is it functional? Why is it decorated that way?" In June of 2016, I graduated from Sprague High School as a member of the National Honors Society with a 4.0 GPA. At this point I had a good idea of what direction I wanted to go in next, but it wouldn't be until I started college that fall that I would really figure out what I loved.
That's me on the right, with my friends Jack and Gillian. I don't think I'd ever been so excited to wear a gown.
First day of school #16, or #17? I lost track
Going to college (to get more knowledge)
In the fall of 2016, I started at Oregon State University seeking a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Naturally I also joined the OSU Meistersingers, the men's choir on campus. In fact, I was in school choirs for my first two years at OSU.
My second year I would sing with the OSU Chamber Choir, though this would be my second and final time singing with an OSU choir. My engineering course load became too much to squeeze another choir into, so in my third year I took my first choir-less term of school since 7th grade. During my first two years as a mechanical engineering student, I took all of the typically-prescribed engineering introductory courses: three different flavors of calculus with a physics course to accompany each one, general chemistry, electrical fundamentals, etc.
After my first two years, I could kind of tell you how to do a lot of different things, not not a whole lot about each subject. A budding Jack of All Trades, becoming increasingly aware of the None I was Master of. It wouldn't be until the second half of my college career that I'd feel proficient at certain things. I started to take more advanced classes about material mechanics, thermodynamics, differential equations, and more. But I also started taking courses on mechanical design, creating toolpaths for computer-aided manufacturing procedures, and finite element analysis. These upper-level electives are where I found out what I liked and didn't like about engineering as a whole. I found out I love coming up with weird concepts to solve problems, that I love to manufacture things either by hand or by computer aid, and that I love the storytelling aspect of communicating ideas with others.
I graduated in March of 2021 with a B.S. in both Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, and got offered a Design Engineer position at ENTEK Manufacturing in Lebanon, OR a month later.
MECOP
You're probably wondering why my expected graduation date was in 2021 instead of 2020. As a senior in high school, one day I received an email from the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program (MECOP) telling me that I had been chosen as a Pre-Select student for their internship program through OSU. Through MECOP, engineering students at OSU and a few other schools in Oregon get to interview with company representatives from the area and work a 6-month paid internship wherever they are placed. So in the fall of my junior year, I was interviewed by a panel of about 20 or so representatives from companies up and down the Willamette Valley. I spent my first internship at Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI) as a quality assurance engineer, and was chosen in January 2020 to be an intern for Hyster-Yale Group in Fairview, OR during the spring and summer of 2020 (pushing my graduation date to March of 2021). That was until the COVID-19 outbreak forced Hyster-Yale to cancel all internships. Luckily, ATI wanted to bring me back in as a regular summer intern in their continuous improvement department, which was a great opportunity to learn even more about engineering project management.
Relaxing at the Majestic Theater in Corvallis, OR after closing night as Frank Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me If You Can
Performance
According to my parents, I've always had a knack for getting the attention of those around me. I never thought much of it until I was in middle school, and I learned about the joys of community and school theater productions. I took theatre classes in middle school, joined my school's concert choir in 8th grade, and was always in a choir until my junior year at OSU. I found choir a little easier to participate in since I didn't have to perform alone and could blend in with the group. But halfway through high school I had finally gained enough courage to audition for my first school musical, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. I got the part of Charlie Brown; it was awesome. From that point on I auditioned for every show my high school did until I graduated. While I got my performance fix at school from being in shows and singing in choir, I had figured out a way to keep performing during the summers and get paid for it too.
My first official job was at the Enchanted Forest Theme Park in 2014 in Turner, OR. I started as a parking lot attendant and would spend my whole first summer there guiding cars in and out of the lot on busy days. My second summer was a bit busier; I got to work retail, food service, custodial, and guest services all in one year. But at the beginning of my third summer, I saw an internal job posting for a drummer to join the traditional Irish band that performed in the park. I had never played the bodhran (traditional Irish drum) before, but I auditioned and tried the drum and got in the band! For the next two years I would spend my summer days dressing like a pirate, singing Irish music for families, and helping one of the park managers with daily operations.
Main Street Mechies
In the summer of 2021, I was having one of many Disney-focused conversations with my college roommate Alex McArthur. We were discussing the impact COVID had on the Disney parks, our theories for possible future attractions, and what changes we'd like to see made to the existing attractions. Then we had that dangerous thought that every pair of friends has had at some point: "What if we made a podcast?" So we did it. We named it "Main Street Mechies," and it has the most dedicated 7-person fan base you've ever seen. We are now over 2 years into this endeavor, and with about 100 episodes under our belts there isn't an end in sight. Collaborating and fostering our love for theme park design (along with many other wonderful podcasters) has been a joy that I look forward to every week.
