I was born and raised in the beautiful northwest and grew up as the second youngest child of a family of 7 children. My hometown is Wenatchee, Washington, the apple capital of the world. My dad worked for over 30 years on the railroad and my mother was a Scottish immigrant. So I'm very proud of the fact that I'm half Scottish and you will often find me wearing Scottish tartan ties to work in honor of my mother.
My non-professional passions include traveling, sports, my family, board games, theatre and music. I love watching and talking about sports and playing racquet sports. I have also taken up skiing and love to get up in the mountains and ski. I love the outdoors, I grew up going camping and hiking and I am an Eagle Scout. I was student body president and valedictorian of Wenatchee High School. I served a 2 year mission for my church in Toronto, Canada after high school and learned how to communicate and serve a wide variety of people from different backgrounds. It was a tremendous, life changing experience.
I was an 18 year old college student at Brigham Young University when I needed my first pair of glasses. I will never forget walking out of the optometry office with my new glasses and looking up at the beautiful Wasatch mountains and the leaves on the trees in Provo, Utah. I noticed all of the beautiful detail that I hadn't even realized that I was missing out on. How cool of a profession would it be to help people see better and to enjoy the beauty of the earth!? The wheels began to turn in my head, and I began to pursue a career in optometry. I also cunningly used my newly discovered vision to notice a beautiful girl on the campus...
I married my wife Katrina in 2005 and we have two beautiful boys: Graham (2 years old) and Griffin. (3 months old). Katrina is a wonderful musician and plays the piano beautifully and also teaches voice lessons. She is truly my better half. She is the thousand watt light bulb in my life. Our boys are a joy to be around. You must meet them.
I decided to pursue my optometry training at the Ohio State University, in Columbus, OH. I graduate in June of 2012 with an optometry degree and a Master's degree in vision science. I love optometry and I love the chance to meet my patients and improve and monitor their vision using the latest technology. The most rewarding moments have come when people are able to comfortably read and drive again, when patients learn how to use and love their contact lenses, and when I have identified life threatening conditions and offered important referrals for medical care. I hope to find a wonderful practice where I can offer my skills and passion for optometry. My wife and I are very excited to start the next chapter in our lives.
