Born the youngest of 5 to a struggling household, it brought many of its own complications. After spending over 10 years in the foster care system, and experiencing physical, mental, and emotional abuse, I was as good a bet as any to be just another youth chewed up and spit out by the foster system.

However, I knew I didn’t want to be another statistic.

While battling homelessness, I continued attending school and found sports to be a great outlet. After being taken from my family again when I was 16, I became a national recruit for football. I signed to play at the University of Minnesota, graduated in 3 years with a degree in communications and started my grad degree - all while playing football and excelling on the field.

I left grad school to sign a contract to play in the NFL... only to realize that that wasn’t what I felt like my purpose was.

I left the NFL and began working with youth from similar backgrounds to mine, assisting them in their pursuit of success. I now work closely with the foster care space, and speak professionally as an adversity expert and revisionist. What I learned through my life certainly resonates within the space of foster care, but what I learned from adversity rings true in all spaces.

I love anything competitive like sports and games. I enjoy creating such as writing, drawing, painting and building. Besides speaking, spending time in good company is one of the most rewarding ways to spend my time.