Who I am

My Journey to becoming an educator was not a straight line, but rather a meandering path with many experiences that have enhanced my understanding of what it means to be a coach, a mentor, and a teacher. I have had some exceptional role models throughout high school and university, a mixture of coaches, teachers, and administrators. My experiences and lessons learned from these individuals helps to mold who I am.

The first step to my journey as an educator begins unexpectedly during my career as a university basketball player. Taking on a leadership role both on the court, in the locker, and in the school came naturally to me. This extended to coaching high school camps, coaching high school teams, and working with player development with other university level athletes. This continued for me after my graduation as an alumnus of the program.

In conjunction with my university athlete experience I worked as a mentor and leader within my fraternity of Sigma Pi, Eta Omicron chapter. My involvement as a student was limited but as an alumnus I found the time and passion to become an active mentor to the young brothers in regards to academics, athletics, and life experiences. I found a great deal of reward and success in being a positive influence for these young men and seeing them grow.

After university I worked with a variety of high schools, university athletes, and with safe schools Toronto as well. During this time I worked as an financial analyst at DundeeWealth in Toronto. After five years as an analyst I realized that I wanted a change in my career. To facilitate this I decided to take a year in Korea where I mentored, tutored, and taught English to Korean students. I also played basketball and did some coaching as well. Through these experiences I learned that teaching and being an educator came naturally to me. I found a combination of challenges and success in helping young adults learn and achieve their potential. The rewards for me are not measurable.

Looking back I have been a mentor and an educator, albeit primarily on the basketball court, for the majority of my post-university life. This comes naturally to me. I am excited to start this new career and share in the successes, challenges, and difficulties of my students and athletes as an educator and as a coach.