I was born in Chicago, Illinois and have lived in the suburbs near the city my entire life. Ever since I was little I loved figuring out how things worked, taking my toys apart (which my mom HATED) to see their inner workings and collecting all the parts to use them in some other way. I was always a very hands-on guy, and since my father passed at an early age, I tried to learn how to fix or build anything from my uncles whenever I had a chance. I spent a great deal of my time scouring the internet for new projects I could do around the house. In high school, I gravitated towards building and troubleshooting computers, but I found my real passion tinkering with cars and from that point I knew I needed to pursue an engineering degree. Studying mechanical engineering at IIT has taught me a great deal about how the world around me works, but that has only increased my curiosity for learning more. I fell in love with taking an idea, creating a design, and bringing it to life. I know I will never stop tinkering and building, and I am very excited to bring my curiosity and passion for engineering into a professional career.