I was born in Rochester NY in 1975. I grew up playing basketball, baseball, ice hockey, and anything else I could. In high school I started playing volleyball and that got me to go to Ohio State.

Some volleyball highlights include winning the state championship, being named one of "Volleyball Monthly's" 1993 "Fab 50," winning a gold medal in the 1994 Empire State Games, playing in the 1996 U.S. Olympic Festival in Colorado Springs, and being Ohio State's team captain in 1998.

After playing volleyball at Ohio State I transferred to the University of Arizona and focused a little more on my studies. I graduated with a B.S. in Geoscience Education from one of the best geology departments in the country. I first taught math in Tucson before moving back to Rochester.

While in Rochester I taught a year of Environmental Science. My wife then got offered a great job at the University of Illinois and I got a job coaching volleyball at Central. A week before classes started one of the science teachers got an administrative job that left an opening that was perfect for me. The next year I switched into the math department and now here I am!

My wife and I enjoy our two beautiful daughters Grace and Izzy, ages 2 and 4.