I grew up in Redding, California (a.k.a. the "real" NorCal) in which I played sports throughout my childhood. I attended a small private Christian school from 1st -8th grade and then went to Foothill High School in Palo Cedro, CA for four years. While a high school student I played two years of football and was on the varsity basketball team. I was also president of Foothill's Key Club (a student led community service organization) and represented our district in Washington D.C. for the 2009 National Science Bowl.
Currently I am a freshman, class of 2013, at Stanford University. I intend (at least for now) to major in electrical engineering and minor in computer science. In the beginning of autumn quarter I walked on to the Stanford Freshman Crew Team — I wanted to try something new and couldn't give up the life of being an athlete. This sport changed everything I thought I know about hard work and has become a significant part of who I am. In what little free time I have, I enjoy fishing, golfing, hiking, and racquetball. But most of all, I'll never pass up a moment I have to just chill with some friends out on campus.
It was through crew that I was introduce to FACE AIDS. The time came in early January to start looking for a summer job/internship just as Dave and Austin (two previous FACE AIDS riders and varsity rowers) asked if anyone was interested in joining the Ride Against AIDS. This immediately caught my attention as an exciting summer experience as well as something productive I could do with my time.
After talking with Dave and Austin I then met two founders of FACE AIDS and was instantly inspired by the work they were doing and the message they were sending out. I see the Ride Against AIDS as a way to turn my freshman year's work of rowing into something positive with the power to change someone else's life.