I grew up in Readington Township, New Jersey before attending Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas to earn a degree in print journalism. During this time, I enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantryman and spent three years in Upstate New York at Fort Drum. Returning to Harding University, I completed my B.A. in print journalism and then earned my M.S.E in education with an emphasis in public relations while working in the Public Safety Department as an officer, while simultaneously enlisting in the Arkansas National Guard and working at the local newspaper (3 years). I have worked in a number of leadership positions with the department and military in various roles. I assumed responsibility of the university motor pool fleet in January 2009 after returning from a military deployment conducting convoy operations. In the 14 years after assuming the fleet operation I built a solid fleet management program and policy from scratch until I retired in September 2023 with 27 years of service to Harding. After moving to the area of Fairbanks, Alaska, I took on a new position as the DOT Compliance Specialist with Black Gold Transportation. Black Gold is a company dedicated to hauling gold ore from mining sites to a local processing center and is located in North Pole, just south of Fairbanks.