Background (Past)
I have spent most of my life living in Western Washington. Shortly after I was born, my family moved to an extremely secluded place in the woods, about 30 minutes from any store. As I got older I quickly gained a love and appreciation for the outdoors.
Growing up, my Dad was a general contractor and custom builder with a talent for just about any handy work. I often found myself by his side watching him work and learning tricks of the trade and later on becoming a key part of his team on many building projects. Although my exposure was mostly building or woodworking related I personally leaned more towards a technical aspect. Starting with simple electronics like stereos and VCRs, I would often dissect them to see how they worked, or repair anything that was having issues. It was then that I took on the mantle of geekdom among my family and friends.
Unlike most of my friends during childhood, I had the opportunity to travel often; not only locally on camping and day trips, but to other places around the country, and eventually, around the world. By the late 90s I had visited 45 states in U.S., as well as Canada, Mexico, and the U.K. which all became amazing learning and growth experiences.
In between traveling and school I spent a great deal of my time self teaching myself computers. I benefited from several mentors that I had a close relationship with, but also excelled my learning by spending ample time at the keyboard simply messing around and doing research online.
A Major Turning Point
At 19 years old I chose to serve a mission for my church. I submitted my papers and waited for to appointed a destination. Little did I know that I would be called half way around the world to an area I’ve always been extremely interested in, the little island of Taiwan. After training for a period of three months to speak and teach I embarked on a journey that would direct the course of my life and give me my most amazing experiences yet.
The years I spent in Taiwan were some of the best of my life. I grew to love the people, the land, the food and so many more things about the area. The Chinese culture became a deeply rooted part of me.
Preparing to end my mission brought on some other big choices, like where I was going to go, or do. As I saw the immense opportunity for trade among these countries and wanted to hang on to the skills I had gained, I planned to start an International Trade company with a former mission companion turned close friend. I’ve been working on that business ever since.
Visit www.im-ex.com to find out more.
Interests
A list of things that I really enjoy are: Building computers, designing and sometimes programming websites, putting together networks, designing graphics, working with software (mostly Windows based), researching and learning about new technology, playing with my kids, spending time with my family, chatting with close friends, watching tv or movies, woodworking, organizing, doing handy work (fixing things), traveling, flying, driving, camping, biking, hiking, eating new things, learning, gaming, reading… just to name a few 😉
Ambitions (Future)
I am big fan and enthusiast of continued education. I consider myself a quick and eager learner and hope to further my education by schooling and training. There are many things I would like to learn about and many languages I would like to speak.
Aside from education, I have a avid interest in future technology and would like to be involved in some research and development projects down the road.
There are so many things that I see myself doing in future years… and I plan on continuing to pursue these ambitions until they become my reality.
