Formal Education

Growing up I attended Clarkston schools from kindergarten to high school. I was always ahead of the curve when it came to math classes but always at the bottom when it came to grade (from lack of doing homework). At one point I knew I could do better and entered a program called the Clarkston Science Math Technology (CSMTech) program. At the time, I had to skip some minor math and science classes to catch up to the others. I never fell behind in terms of understanding, but my grades stayed relatively low.

It was not until college that I decided I should start trying for better grades. I applied to Oakland Community College (OCC), where I took many general classes such as composition, anthropology, biology, chemistry, etc. I tried to take as many advanced math classes I could while here which included calculus (I, II and III), differential equations, abstract algebra, engineering physics (I and II) and more. For the most part, my GPA was decent. I had received a 4.0 in my major classes such as calculus III, engineering physics II, chemistry I/II, etc. Unfortunately, early on I received a 2.0 in Engineering Physics I which to this day is still my lowest grade point received in a college class. This was the point where I had decided to major in physics, due to the challenge it would provide me. Before this point I was considering a career in electrical engineering or something similar. Later I found out that even though I had nearly 100 credits taken here, I was one economics class away from an associate’s degree (which was not my goal of attending OCC) when transferring to MSU.

After exhausting the interesting classes at OCC, I attended Michigan State University (MSU). I was originally going to an Astrophysics degree but soon after decided I liked the pure physics classes more. I ended up finishing a physics and mathematics dual degree in 2018 from MSU. I ended up being one class away from the astrophysics degree requirement by the time I finished. I did not pursue this last class because of scheduling conflicts and MSU's policies on receiving a third degree.

After finishing up my degrees at MSU, I attended a 9 month program at Ambassador Bible College (ABC) during a long needed break from physics and mathematics classes. While attending ABC I have been learning about the content and history of the Bible while developing my speaking, communication and leadership skills.

If you're curious as to why someone with my experience has chosen to take almost a year out of my life to attend ABC, the answer is simple. As I enter into my professional career and future, it is pivotal that I have a grounded understanding and foundation for my beliefs. Because of this I have chosen to attend ABC to study the Bible and make sure that I have a firm foundation for my ethics and morals that I want to be sure to live by throughout my life. Along with this, my greatest academic weakness has been my ability to read because this is something I never grew up doing. With that said, I saw no better way to remedy that weakness other than spending the greater part of a year studying the stories and history of the Bible, writing speeches, and being able to enhance my reading comprehension abilities by studying something other than science and mathematics.