A Personal Anecdote

Making things has always felt personal to me because it is tied so closely to how I grew up and to the people who shaped me. My dad was a machinist, his dad was a machinist, and the generations before them were too, so from the time I was young, I was surrounded by that world. I spent summers in the shop, around machines, tools, engineers, and the kind of people who did not run from problems but worked through them with their hands and their minds. At the time, I did not fully understand how much that was shaping me. I just knew that when something was broken, we tried to fix it, and when something did not exist, we found a way to make it. My dad taught me that without ever having to say it directly. Whether it was a clutch lever, a gearbox, or some other problem that needed a solution, he showed me that real value comes from being able to think, create, and help. Looking back, I realize how much of who I am came from those moments. College helped me put a name to it: engineering. It gave me a way to take what I had grown up feeling and turn it into something bigger. That is why I build. I build because it is part of where I come from, part of who I am, and part of how I want to give back. I want to keep learning, keep growing, and use the gifts, opportunities, and work ethic I have been given to solve real problems and help move the world forward.