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My story begins on the summer solstice of 1968. Despite growing up on the south side of Chicago, I never had any encounters with gangsters or other low-life's, but instead lived through a typical childhood filled with bike riding, piano lessons, sledding, reading, and (of course) school. I attended Kellogg, the local public school, through seventh grade, and then transferred to Morgan Park Academy for eighth grade and high school. Part of the reason I like CDS so much is because its atmosphere and mission remind me a great deal of MPA. One way, however, in which MPA differs from CDS is that MPA was truly an international community, and members of my class had roots in Armenia, Lithuania, Korea, India, Peru, and other assorted countries.
My undergraduate days were spent at Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana, where I spent four and one-half years earning a double major (physics and mathematics) and double minor (philosophy and humanities) before graduating summa cum laude. Upon the advice and support of my professors, I continued my education in the physics department at Duke University. (Despite having lived in the south for over twelve years now, I am still a northerner at heart, and I still get teased for saying "pop" instead of "soda".) After two more years of physics classes, I joined a Quantum Optics group and worked on the development of a new type of laser - one depending on an atomic deexcitation involving two photons rather than the typical one photon. After about three years in the lab, and training in everything from designing and building circuit boards, to constructing diode-laser mounts, aligning optical components, plumbing, machining, and electrical work, I finally finished and successfully defended my thesis, "Two-Photon Raman Gain in a Laser-Driven Potassium Vapor".
Although I enjoyed my time at Duke, after a great deal of soul-searching I decided that research was not my calling. Instead, teaching seemed to be in my blood and so I went back to school for one more year to earn my Masters in Teaching. After a full year of internship and then a year teaching part time at a tiny public high school in Andrews, North Carolina, I moved to Asheville and joined the community of Carolina Day School. So far my tenure at Carolina Day has been more rewarding than I could ever have imagined before becoming a teacher.
Although I was fairly non-athletic in my early years of school (always the last one picked for a team during gym), over the years my interests and passions came to include the martial arts (I hold a first-degree black belt in kenpo), running, and whitewater kayaking. I also dabble in road biking and mountain biking, ice-skating and ice-dancing, snowboarding, and I have recently become a serious wanna-be triathlete. These pursuits easily fill my days and keep me healthy and happy.
Despite living far from home, I remain quite close to my family, especially my three sisters Claire (35), Leah (23), and Ellen (21). I am very proud of their accomplishments, and given the opportunity I can talk about them for hours. My older sister Claire is also a teacher, and my younger sisters are still in school, so we have the opportunity to spend a fair amount of time together each year. I am quite fortunate to have spent at least two weeks each summer since I was thirteen travelling with my Dad and sisters. I have quite literally been around the world, and have visited places that will remain sharp in my memory for the rest of my life.
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