Q: What was your first car?

A: That’s a great question. It was a blue 1988 Cadillac Seville, and I paid $5,200 for it. Straight cash. I paid on my own. It was the nicest ride ever. It was so funny when I told my mom and dad I’m buying a Cadillac, they thought I was crazy. It was 2001 when I bought that car. So it had 30,000 miles on it when I bought that too. It was a pretty sweet ride, I definitely miss that one. You gotta look up that car when you have the chance. Other kids have a Honda Civics and smaller sedan cars, and I come out of nowhere and buy an old school Cadillac. That was the only thing I could afford back then, right? Everything else was too expensive for me and I couldn’t afford it, so I paid for my own.

Q: What is your favorite movie or TV show in why is it your favorite?

A: “Back to the Future” is my favorite. I love that movie. Still my favorite movie of all the time.  It’s a good 80s movie, Michael J. Fox, it was fantastic. It’s just a good movie, ahead of its time, and in the sense of it being entertaining but at the same time it’s very interesting and it’s just funny. 

Q: If you could meet someone dead or alive for 30 minutes, who would it be and what would you talk about?

A:  Kobe Bryant. I would name every one of my kids Kobe if it wasn’t for my wife. Kobe’s always been my favorite basketball player. The Los Angeles Lakers are my favorite basketball team to watch. The thing I would talk to him about is just the work. So his work ethic is great. His work ethic is the most incredible, the energy he brought, all the people watching him play. I wanna pick his brain a little bit about how he played without Shaq. Talk to him about how he won a ring without him. That would be the coolest thing. Another person I really, really would like to meet is George Washington, to get an understanding of what his mindset as a president was. What did he think would happen in the future? What would be his thoughts on the country right now? 

Q: What is your favorite place that you have ever visited? 

A: My favorite one? Wow, that’s tough. A couple places: one is Australia because I was there for sixth months, and I studied there. I had a lot more time to travel so the Great Barrier Reef was beautiful, Sydney, wow, there was just so much, the Great Ocean Road is over there. I also think a country that is really really pretty is Italy. The countryside of Italy is so pretty. Those are the few international ones, but if you’re looking at our country I think flying out west and seeing the National Parks is incredible. Denver and The Rocky Mountains, it’s absolutely beautiful up there. Those are just some of my favorite places.

Q: Why did you start helping other students experience travel around the world? 

A:  It started when my wife Jackie really wanted to go to Australia, she wanted to go while I didn’t. Of course I went there because she wanted too and when I got there it really opened my eyes like there was no tomorrow. And I came back with this new vision of just traveling and seeing things and it really changed my approach of life. Look at the U.S, I got to visit 16 states, but it wasn’t anything like being outside of the country. I want the people from Shaler Area to have the same opportunity as I had. Last year I held a trip to Egypt to hope that students see the vision that I saw while I was in Australia. It’s something that they can experience and gives them a chance to see what’s out there. I have former students that live in places other than the U.S. I know some people are fortunate enough to travel and whether they can have their family travel with them or not, so for me to do this is stressful, It’s a lot of work.

Q: I know you were in New York City and visited the 9/11 memorials, and I was wondering where exactly were you during 9/11? 

A: I was 18 years old. I started school at Slippery Rock. 
I was a freshman and I was walking to class, and one of my friends told me that, “hey, one of the twin towers was hit with an airplane. I couldn’t figure out what they’re talking about, and I’m walking to class and someone’s  screaming saying “ The airplane just hit it.” So I walked into the closest door and walked in someone’s room and we’re just watching this other airplane and just crash right into the other tower. Yes, so it was up at Slippery Rock. It was really strange, and the weirdest thing for me during 9/11 is after that took place, they did not let any other airplanes fly. Like all the airports were closed, No airplanes in the sky. It was so weird not hearing any airplanes fly for over a week because I lived near an airport. Yeah still, though you think of 9/11 and how it has changed our lives forever. 

Q: What’s the best advice that you’ve ever been given? 

A: I think numerous times that people who go to school here get talked down to quite a bit, like how you can never do this, or you can never do that. people can always be sometimes negative to you. I don’t know if it’s jealousy or they generally just think you can’t do it. I think the best advice is to think about the negatives in your life and turn them into positives. Every time someone says I can’t do something I make it my goal to do that thing. Not only for me, but also to feel the great feeling of proving them wrong. I don’t care how hard or how much work it is, I always work my butt off to prove someone wrong.