I was born and raised in Santa Ana (Southern California), as the 3rd child in a family of four. I received a wonderful education from local Catholic schools and decided to attend Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Not long after graduating, I began my teaching career by substitute teaching all grade levels (K-12) in Torrance Unified School District. Enjoying it immediately, I enrolled in a teaching credential program at Cal State Dominguez Hills University. During my credential program, I taught for several months in elementary positions, while continuing to substitute teach in Torrance Unified. Following the credential program, I was offered a position at a Catholic school in Manhattan Beach. I taught for five years at this school in the 4th and 5th grades, while earning my master's degree in literacy education from Loyola Marymount. In the summer of 2012 my wife, Candace, and I married, and I moved to Sonoma County to begin teaching at Yulupa as part of the first-grade team! I then moved back to upper elementary and joined the 6th-grade team at Strawberry.  I loved every day I spent with my students, and I will miss the age, curriculum, and colleagues at Strawberry. However, I am happy to be moving back to lower elementary and for the exciting adventure of teaching 2nd grade. While I love surfing, rugby, music, the great outdoors, and movies, teaching was an easy career choice. It is simply what I was made to do. I look forward to each and every day I spend with my students, and I look forward to every new year.