Brief Bio

Born outside of Philadelphia my family moved to Winter Springs, Florida in the mid 1980's. I graduated Oviedo High School with the class of 1992. I worked at Meridian Court Chinese Cuisine Restaurant from my sophomore year through my senior year at Oviedo High School . My senior year I also took a second job at a delicatessen in Orlando, Florida making sandwiches.

I attended Northampton Community College and graduated the Funeral Service Education Department in December 1995 with an A. S. Degree.

Through college I worked for Natural Wonders in the Lehigh Valley Mall culminating with a position that placed me as a Geology Specialist Sales Associate with the responsibility of overseeing incoming shipments and helping to merchandise new product on the sales floor.

My sophomore year at Northampton Community College I began a student trainee position at Weber Funeral Homes, Inc. whose parent company is Service Corporation International (the largest death care provider in the world). While maintaining my position at Natural Wonders I completed my student trainee requirement and received my degree.

After I received my degree I passed my National Board Examination, resigned from Natural Wonders, and began my apprenticeship at Weber Funeral Homes, Inc. After the required one year apprenticeship I sat in and passed my Licensing Exam on the first attempt. After four years at Weber Funeral Homes, Inc. I decided that I did not want to remain a Funeral Director for my entire professional career. I resigned from my position and returned to college.

After one year of classes I returned to retail. I took a Sales Associate position with Dillard's Department Stores in November 2000. I began rapid promotion within the Dillard's Company believing I would stay in retail. Within six months I became an assistant manager with the Women's Junior Department under my supervision. Just Prior to the 2001 Holiday Season I was promoted to Area Sales Manager supervising the Children's Department. Immediately after the Holiday Season I was again promoted to Area Sales Manager of Shoes. This was a promotion because the Shoe Department was a cornerstone department with Ladies', Men's, and Children's Shoes. Furthermore, I went from a 7-9 employee responsibility to a 20 employee roster. In September 2002 I resigned from my position at Dillard' Department Stores to continue my education and obtain my Bachelor's Degree.

I returned to Muhlenberg College in the summer of 2003 and took a position as a Presidential Assistant with the Office of Information Technology. I was the department Presidential Assistant/Web Content Coordinator at Muhlenberg College and have graduated with my B. A. in International Studies with a concentration in Global Trade and International Business in August 2004.

Currently I am studying Public Policy and Advocacy Studies at Lehigh University and anticipate graduating in August 2005 with a M. A. in Political Science with a shared concentration in Policy and Advocacy Studies. In this program I am involved in two separate but related graduate projects.

First, I am the Project Director for Muhlenberg College's 19^th Street Development Project. The President of Muhlenberg College (Peyton "Randy" Helm) has identified an initiative to promote Muhlenberg's support for the local businesses around the college's campus. For this project I have been given several tasks. I have organized a "Champions' Committee" consisting of members from local government, chamber of commerce, and community organizations. The "Champions' Committee" was created with the mission of developing strategies and tactics to fulfill the vision of a vibrant merchant community surrounding Muhlenberg's campus which would benefit the residents, business owners, and cultural/educational institutions. The 19^th Street Area that I have identified as the focus has more than 100 businesses. I have organized meetings among the business owners to discuss their needs and desires for the area. I have created a "walking map" of the area to be distributed to both Muhlenberg students and members of the community. I solicited all of the advertisements on the map which covered all of the costs of the map. I will also be organizing a "Street Festival" and "Community Film Series" to further promote the area. In addition to the aforementioned duties I have also instructed two classes in the Entrepreneurial Studies Department at Muhlenberg College (BUS 950 & BUS 960).

Second, I am also serving as the Community Fellow for the College Valley Project. The College Valley Project has been developed to promote the Lehigh Valley through the realization of four goals: (1) [The Lehigh Valley] serves a magnet for the brightest young minds [with the presence of six nationally recognized colleges, Lehigh University, Lafayette College, Muhlenberg College, Moravian College, Cedar Crest College, and De Sales University]; (2) Exploiting the region's natural strengths to bring in more tourism spending; (3) Validating and reinforcing perceptions of the region as a vibrant college town; (4) Impacting graduate retention and the regional economy. My duties in this position include; providing support for the College Valley web site, attending and participating in all Steering Committee meetings, helping in the creation of an annual "Student Welcoming Festival", and additional duties.

The most prominent activities I enjoy are reading, sports, learning anything new, and human interaction.

To expand on these activities is quite difficult because I really can't pinpoint specific preferences. To explain, some of my favorite authors include, Poe, Hesse, Camus, Irvine Welsh, and I can go on and on and on. I probably read 25 to 40 books a year (However, the past few years I have spent more time studying assigned reading as opposed to leisure). My sports preferences are similarly diverse and can run from cards to ice-hockey. I enjoy interaction ranging from conversation to problem solving and even debate. As far as learning is concerned, I am excited to learn anything previously unknown or unrealized.

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