Since my own high school days I've been passionate about learning, critical thinking, philosophy, social science, and social change.
I struggled mightily to adapt to conventional education, yet my thirst for learning and ambition never let me give up, even in the face of frustration after frustration, after frustration.
The clash of values I faced within high school and community college was brutal. But luckily perseverance and serendipity proved to be enough to eventually lead me to a better-fit educational institution--Eugene Lang College: The New School for Liberal Arts--where I had the privilege of learning at a high level and completed my Bachelors of Arts degree.
Since graduating, life has taken me through unexpected turns . . . some good, some disappointing, but always learning along the way. I've met many talented and good-hearted people through events of all kinds. I've fulfilled roles in education, political organizing, fundraising, and caregiving.
My career focus has always been about leveraging my talent for maximal social impact. Though it's always impossible for anyone to identify this role with complete certainty, it is clear to me that using my intelligence, knowledge, experience, social capital, charisma, and interpersonal intuition toward the educational and life mentorship of our society's youth is among the best ways I can use my time.
One of the regular frustrations I experience is the underutilization of talent and opportunity. While this inefficiency is present within all age groups, I view the teen years as especially critical in the positioning of a person to succeed in life. Cookie-cutter approaches cannot be expected to produce an optimal outcome. Yet, this is the type of support the vast majority of people receive. While I hope to help change the macro-level systems that systemically underappreciate, misinvest in, and misallocate human talent; helping open up opportunities for teens to learn deeply and meaningfully in accordance with their intrinsic motivation . . . and helping impart in teens a realistic understanding of the challenges they are likely to face within their human lifespan . . . is the most direct route to the depth of impact I am adamant about making with my life.
So what can you expect from me? (What kind of person am I?)
It is in my nature to oscillate between intellectual rigor and playful humor. My inquisitiveness has led to me having familiarity with a great deal of topics.
I take ethical responsibility very seriously in my day-to-day life. Fairness, honesty, integrity, and consistency in beliefs and actions are foundational values of mine. I don't mind too much seeming strange to others as long as my behavior makes logical sense to me. I believe that an inevitable consequence of remaining true to one's values is standing out, which may make one victim to ridicule at times.
I believe deeply in the power and importance of human connection. I'm very comfortable holding space and giving empathy. I believe that human solidarity is key to societal flourishing.
I have a variety of interests including the arts, technology, probabilistic thinking, wealth building, social entrepreneurship, and community building, among many others of both typical and atypical nature.
Basically, I like to be of service, I like to have fun, I like to joke, I like to learn, I like to create.
You can peruse my blog here: https://HopeThroughChaos.com