About Me
I've lived on the North Coast of California my entire life. I feel lucky to have grown up in such a beautiful area. Although I have always been interested in energy and structural design (taking apart electronics and building tree houses), I never decided on a future in Environmental Engineering until a few years ago. I took an Environmental Science class at Fortuna High School which opened my eyes to the incredible opportunities for working with the natural environment. It didn't take me long to realize I would find the most fulfillment creating energy for, improving the efficiency of, and solving the problems of our industrialized society. I took another similar class the next year, Green Technology, with the same great teacher, Pam Halstead. I was fortunate to have a college like Humboldt State University, renowned for their environmental programs, just a few towns away. I am now working for a degree in Environmental Resource Engineering.
Relevant Background
I haven't had much professional experience, but my personal experience covers many different areas. First of all I have quite a bit of experience with basic construction. Although building tree forts may not seem like real work experience, constructing platforms 10-20' high in the Redwoods creates some knowledge of load-bearing structures. I have also worked with my dad on more "legitimate" projects, like pouring cement, building a deck, putting up a new wall indoors, erecting fences; all of which met local standards. My personal projects extended past construction as well. My cousin and I once built an electrolytic hydrogen generator using plans from the internet. Our low budget model produced much less hydrogen than we hoped, as he wanted a hydrogen cutting torch for other ventures. The build was still an enjoyable experience, however. My experience with computers consist of basic hardware and software manipulation. My first laptop was a ten year old piece of junk which I restored from being completely unbootable to being able to play my favorite game, Dota 2. Although my forts have long since been dismantled, and the hydrogen generator gathers dust on a high shelf in my room, I feel I have retained the knowledge gained through my many exploits.