Welcome!

Thanks for visiting.  Here you'll find information about me, including my education, professional and volunteering experience, and contact information.  I'm working on optimizing the site for mobile devices, so please forgive any formatting issues if you're viewing this page on a phone or tablet.  

Current Objective

I'm a Civil Engineering student at the University of Calgary looking to combine my engineering technical knowledge with my help-desk and customer service experience to help create interesting and unique solutions to challenging technical problems as an intern starting in May 2020.

Values

Community.  A common theme of public service runs through my life history. I've held a number of volunteer roles with organizations such as the Calgary Police Service, Habitat for Humanity, and the Calgary Youth Justice Society as well as various University clubs and athletic teams.  
I chose to study Civil Engineering over the other engineering disciplines because it stands out as most concerned with the health and welfare of thriving communities.  Finally, I chose to study Political Science because I'm interested in how communities, big and small, deal with competing ideas, interests and resources.  I'm interested in understanding what makes good leadership, what allows some organizations to thrive while others falter, and what can be learned from example.

Courage.  As anyone going through a career transition will know, leaving the comforts of the known and predictable is difficult and often humbling. The transformation requires egos to be ignored and fear to be supressed to realize success.  This has been my experience in becoming an engineer. I'm grateful for having made the sacrifices necessary to get to where I am because it has fundamentally redefined what I believe to be possible from my efforts.  I fully acknowledge that I could not have done this without the steadfast support of my family and friends.

Integrity.  I'm a true believer in the idea of finishing what you start and staying true to your word.  I never miss a deadline; if I'm at risk of doing so, I'm not afraid to ask for help.  I see all challenges as learning opportunities and I'm always looking for ways to grow into a better person.  

Patience.  My many years in the customer service and help-desk industries has expanded my reserve for patience and understanding.  When navigating difficult interactions with people, be they collegues at work, clients, stakeholders, family members or friends, I always have in the back of my mind that everyone approaches challenges from their own life contexts and that rarely are these tensions directed at eachother personally.  I approach every conflict with the goal of building consensus and understanding.  

Efficiency.  Our time and energy is finite and I believe in making the most of these resources, whether it's at work or in my personal life.  I've developed a habit of consciously managing my time through effective scheduling so that waste is reduced as much as possible.  I've long been a believer in earning my paycheque and adding as much value as I can to the organizations and the people with whom I work and spend my time. 

Interests

Outdoors.  You'll seldom find me at home when the sun is out.  Whether it's scrambling up a mountain or backcountry camping, I can't get enough of the Canadian Rockies.  I've been an avid hiker for many years now, and I've recently developed an interest in trail running. I have aspirations to compete in the Sinister 7 race in the near future and one day (if I'm lucky) I'll get a spot in the Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc race.  In April 2016, I ran 106 km as part of a team for the Isle of Wight Challenge in England, raising 151% of our fundraising goal - £1818.56 ($3036 CAD) for a charity called Refugee Action, which helps people seeking asylum to rebuild their lives in the UK.  

Books.  Text books and lecture materials comprise most of my reading at the moment, but over this past spring and summer I've finished some interesting reads.  I re-read George Orwell's classics 1984 and Animal Farm.  Following that, I read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg - a very interesting book on the structure of habits that offers ways to cultivate good habits, while replacing bad ones.  Along the same vein, I finished Cal Newport's Deep Work, which details how the author believes that our ability to focus on deep, non-trivial work that creates actual value is being diminished just when it's needed most.  Newport suggests that the distraction economy is to blame for this and he offers techniques to cultivate a deep work habit - many of which I've incorporated into my life.  I ended the summer with John Krakauer's Into Thin Air, an account of the May 1996 tragic expedition to the top of Mount Everest.  All told, 15 people died on the mountain that year including the experts Rob Hall and Scott Fischer.  Krakauer's account is incredibly detailed and thrilling to read - I highly recommend it. I've started Marcus Aurelius' Meditations and read as much as time permits during the school year.  My interest in ancient Greek philosophy is definitely a holdover from my Political Science education.