Life Story
I was born in Syracuse, NY and grew up in Bridgeport, NY. I graduated from Chittenango High School in 1996. In high school I participated in art club, jv and varsity football, and varsity track. I attended Syracuse University from the fall of 1996 to the fall of 2001. There I majored in Communication Design. My mother had worked at the university, and when she left her job there I lost my free tuition. There was no way I was going to be able to pay tuition at S.U. so a degree would have to wait.
I worked as a drywall finisher for the next few years, a trade I learned from my father. I had started in drywall working in the summers while at S. U. As fun and exiting as drywall was, I knew it was not my calling, I was pretty good at it but I wanted to be a graphic designer.
I decided to join the Army in 2002, the US was about to go to war with Iraq and I wanted to be a part of my generations’ war. I couldn’t settle for just joining the army I had too sign up for Airborne School, and get some parachutist wings. I have the HBO series Band of Brothers to thank for that inspiration. In February 2003 I left for basic training, AIT, and Airborn School. In August I arrived at the 82nd Airborne Infantry Division in North Carolina. I left for Iraq a few months later just in time for Thanksgiving. I returned home from Iraq in April 2004 and thankfully never went back.
While in the Army, I became a Christian , promoted to Sargent in 2005, and I got married to my wife Heather in July of 2006. I also began taking some college courses online. I left the Army, and North Carolina in 2007 and returned back to central New York.
I’m glad that I had joined the Army, I gained a lot of valuable experience, such as teamwork, management, leadership, and a lot of patience. I also have a better sense of the entitlements and responsibilities of being an American citizen and veteran, not just through my own experiences but all those that served and sacrificed before me.
Before leaving the Army my wife and I did all the necessary preparations so I could start going to school at SUNY Oswego to finish my graphic design degree. Thankfully I have the GI Bill as well as a veterans tuition award, so school is all paid for plus a little extra for living expence. Pretty good deal I think. So far so good i’m getting good grades, and I am plannig on graduating in May or December 2010.
In the future I hope additions to this biography will include, getting a nice job as a designer, a house, maybe some kids and a dog, and a Harley Davidson.