Teaching has been my passion from an early age. As a high school freshman, I discovered the joy of helping others succeed while teaching swimming lessons. By my senior year, I was a cadet teacher for my band director, sharing my love for music with younger students. Between seeing their growth and excitement to the encouragement of many of my teachers, I was inspired to become a teacher. Every day, I strive to ignite that same passion in my students.

A couple of years ago, I took the symphony orchestra from my school to Carnegie Hall to perform. I had been working with one of my students who composed a piece of music, and was going to premiere her piece at Carnegie Hall. In our clinic, I got to see this student work with composition faculty from SCU, who was quite impressed. Then as I was conducting her piece, I saw her eyes light up as the orchestra played her piece flawlessly. The performance ended with a standing ovation.

I have five kids of my own, and four of them are daughters. I would save most of the money for helping with their college and weddings. It is also my 25th wedding anniversary this year and my wife and I rarely take vacations. I would give her the cruise to the Mediterranean she has always wanted.