About Me
Most important to me is my family, including my wife and 1-year-old daughter, but I've long felt that the students and teachers of Milwee Middle School have been my extended family. Since starting at Milwee in 2011, I've taught various social studies classes, including U.S. History, Civics, and World Geography classes. I also help coach boys' basketball and sponsor the after-school "Friday Basketball" club, in which students, teachers, and recent Milwee alumni bond through an afternoon of casually competitive games.
After moving to Florida from New England at a young age, I've remained in Florida ever since, receiving both my undergraduate and Master's degree from the University of Central Florida before joining Milwee.
While I truly enjoy living in the Orlando community, I love traveling even more. During my graduate studies at UCF, I was chosen to participate in a five-week, all-expenses-paid Fulbright-Hays tour of Botswana (in southern Africa). This was my first time traveling overseas, and I can honestly say that it changed how I look at the world. Aside from going on safari and hiking to see cave art from thousands of years ago, I was able to visit schools from the elementary to university level, and got a very real sense of a wholly different culture and education system.
While I truly enjoy living in the Orlando community, I love traveling even more. During my graduate studies at UCF, I was chosen to participate in a five-week, all-expenses-paid Fulbright-Hays tour of Botswana (in southern Africa). This was my first time traveling overseas, and I can honestly say that it changed how I look at the world. Aside from going on safari and hiking to see cave art from thousands of years ago, I was able to visit schools from the elementary to university level, and got a very real sense of a wholly different culture and education system.
In the time since, the travel itch I developed has led me from the cities of western Europe to Machu Picchu, from the skyscrapers of Dubai all the way back down to Cape Town (my favorite). I've also been fortunate enough to have been chosen to travel with a group of educators from around the United States to tour Japan as part of the Keizai Koho Fellowship in 2015, as well as to participate in a Fulbright-Hays trip to the Czech Republic in 2016.
No matter where I go, I try my best to bring photos, artifacts, and stories back to my classroom to share with students. I firmly believe that developing an understanding and appreciation of the world, even if only secondhand, is vital not only to succeeding in a social studies class but to succeeding in life.
No matter where I go, I try my best to bring photos, artifacts, and stories back to my classroom to share with students. I firmly believe that developing an understanding and appreciation of the world, even if only secondhand, is vital not only to succeeding in a social studies class but to succeeding in life.
Trip to the Department of Interior's Instagram "Instameet" at the Grand Reopening of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. in May 2014, as featured on national television by the CBS Evening News:
I absolutely love my job, and I feel privileged to work with the amazing students that enter my classroom each day. I'm fascinated by all realms of social studies, but of course I have particular interest in United States history. I enjoy coming up with new and interesting lessons to make history more accessible to teenagers, and I truly believe that being engaged and having fun is the best way to learn.