About Me

My Journey

I've been passionate about computers ever since my 13th birthday, when all I wanted was an old hand-me-down PC from a family friend. That one gift opened the door to a whole new world beyond my neighborhood.

By high school, I had replaced traditional electives with computer programming courses at Erie County Technical School. I started with BASIC, then picked up Visual Basic, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and finally C#. My friends and I spent weekends hosting LAN parties in garages, learning to troubleshoot networking issues and configure switches and routers ourselves.

Later, I joined the U.S. Navy, where I received hands-on training in electronics theory and worked on everything from radar-jamming systems to analog and digital avionics, down to the component level. I learned to read schematics, use signal generators and oscilloscopes, and think in binary, octal, hexadecimal, and logic gates. I supported legacy systems written in COBOL and maintained modern test benches built with C++.

During this time, I also pursued competitive gaming at the highest levels for over 15 years, achieving multiple "world firsts" and competing for world championships. This taught me discipline, strategic thinking, and how to perform under pressure while working with teams toward shared goals.

My time in the Navy was one of the most meaningful chapters of my life. But after several deployments, I found myself wanting a path that felt more connected to everyday life. I tried roles in sales and financial services, but I kept coming back to my first love: computers. For a while, I hesitated to make it a career because I didn't want to lose the joy it gave me. But eventually I realized that building software can be just as fulfilling as anything I had ever done.

Programming continues to challenge and inspire me. It rewards curiosity, discipline, and persistence. There's always something new to explore, and each project brings an opportunity to grow. That's what keeps me coming back—it's a lifelong craft I'm proud to be part of.

Areas of Focus

As a father to an amazing little girl, I care deeply about the future—both in the world we build and the people we build it for. My work is guided by curiosity, intention, and a long-term mindset.

I'm drawn to the full spectrum of computing, from hardware-level problem solving and reverse engineering to software architecture, backend systems, and network performance. I have a strong interest in cybersecurity, developer experience, and the overlap between clean code and real-world reliability. I'm particularly drawn to standardized configurations and POSIX compliance, spending time mastering tools like tmux and Neovim to maximize efficiency and build workflows that are both powerful and portable across platforms.

Outside of technical systems, I'm passionate about education, mentorship, and helping businesses grow with technology that's thoughtful and sustainable. Whether it's a small CLI tool or a platform used by thousands, I want the things I build to stand the test of time.