Interests and Hobbies
Swimming
I have been competitively swimming for almost fifteen years now. I also was a competitive diver for about 9 years. I did both sports for Torresdale Swim Club during the summer, and Lower Moreland Swim Club during the winter. After I graduated from both of these programs and came to Temple University, I joined the swim club here as well. Although Temple no longer has a Division I swim team, the swim club still allows for all of its members to travel and compete at other colleges throughout the year at invitational meets. Some of these colleges include: Penn State, Princeton, Rutgers, Syracuse, Delaware, Villanova, and Maryland. One of my favorite aspects about the club is the Championship Invitational Meet held at Georgia Tech University every April. The meet is in the Olympic facility from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and is truly a breath-taking facility.
Cherry Crusade
During my first two years at Temple, I had the opportunity to join The Cherry Crusade for those who were passionate about Temple Athletics (and painting their bodies before sporting events.) Through this group, I’ve had the privilege of getting opportune chances to travel to important events like football bowl games or the NCAA Basketball Tournament. During my freshman year, I was able to travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico as well as Nashville, Tennessee to watch our Temple Owls compete.
Golf
Through the influence of my friends around 8th grade, I went out and picked up a pair of golf clubs and fell in love with it ever since. However, just because I love doing this doesn’t mean that I am that good. Either way, I still enjoy playing with some friends whenever time allows.
Traveling
I’ve been blessed with several great opportunities to travel with my family and friends. With my family, I’ve been able to travel to places such as San Francisco, Orlando, Cozumel, Mexico, Key West, New York, Washington, Baltimore, and Niagara Falls. Over the last 20 years of my life I’ve been able to visit these places and soak in the culture each has to offer. To just say that I am grateful for these experiences would be an understatement.
However, the most significant travel experience that I’ve had came from a program called People to People which allowed me to travel with 38 students from other schools in my area. People to People is a student ambassador program that promotes peace between all nations and was started by President Eisenhower. I was nominated to participate by a teacher from my high school. After I learned more about it at an information meeting, I decided to go during the summer of 2009. The countries I visited were: France, Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Vatican City (yes, it is a country!)
Even more significant than the trip itself are the relationships I have been able to develop through this trip. On a homestay in Germany, I was able to stay with a family for three days. The families for each student ambassador all came from German students who were willing to house the American students for three days. With the students from both countries being the same age, I have developed a great friendship with my host Johannes and his family. Since the original trip, we have both taken subsequent trips to visit each other again.
The two pictures below show a beautiful view of a Swiss lake and town, and below them, the Eiffel tower at sunset.
To learn more about People to People Student Ambassador Programs, click the link below.