About
Me
During my time as a full-time student at UNF, I started working a part-time job as a piano teacher for a small studio in my hometown. Music is another passion of mine outside of the communication field and photography. I play several instruments, most notably bass guitar and piano, and enjoy listening to and playing all different genres. During my time in grade school I took piano lessons, totaling up to 10 years by the time I graduated high school. I never planned to teach piano, but teaching young children how to play an instrument is fulfilling in its own unique way. Plus, it makes for a great side gig while finishing my degree.
My parents enrolled me in a karate academy when I was still in elementary school, and I began going to lessons multiple times per week. By the time I was 13, I had received my black belt. A few years later I was able to get the next level up as well: second-degree black belt. Although I'm not enrolled in karate lessons anymore, the virtues of the sport, like discipline and respect, have stuck with me.
I picked up photography as a hobby in high school when my grandfather gave me his old film camera. I was intrigued by the process of old-school photography, and quickly bought some cheap 35mm film to try it out. My first roll may not have come out exactly how I had pictured, but that didn't stop me from taking more photos to perfect the skill of shooting and controlling the camera on my own. Eventually, I got a digital camera, and the obsession continued from there. Now I have a small collection of film cameras that I've found at thrift stores and antique shops, and thanks to the photography program at UNF I can completely develop and print the photos I take with ease. Continue clicking through my website to see some examples of my photography work!
All through high school I was trying to decide what I should do with my life. I have all these different hobbies, but none of them felt like something I could do forever without getting bored. My dream career choice came to me after looking through the programs that UNF offered, and kind of putting two and two together. A hobby plus a basic skill that I already had would be perfect to do for a living. I decided to pursue a degree in communication, multi-media journalism specifically, as well as a minor in photography. With these two programs, I want to be a photojournalist. After working most of the way through both programs, I found the value in journalism itself. I want to document real life, with both storytelling and photography.
