About Me
Background
I was born and raised in fabulous Las Vegas (for better or for worse). My mother was a schoolteacher and my father is a university professor, so there has always been a large emphasis on education in my family. I also had the privilege of having an international upbringing, experiencing many different cultures, from Europe all the way to Asia and many times over. From a very young age, I gained an affinity for moving through and understanding cultures, giving me a unique, multicultural worldview.
Education
I am currently a PhD student at the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV, but I took a relatively non-traditional path to hospitality. I did my undergraduate degree in mathematics at UNLV (Go Rebs!) and my masters in statistics at North Carolina State (Go Pack!). In my academic career, I was heavily involved in clubs, industry, and research. I worked very closely with the Nevada RIMS chapter, headed three student organizations, and did research in both statistics- and hospitality-related areas. My research interests were (and continue to be) mostly centered around data-driven approaches as they apply to optimizing different aspects of hospitality, travel, and tourism.
After graduating college, I continued learning, but in just about the most unintuitive way possible: I took a "bum" year. Or at least that's what I called it at first. In my time away from the academic and professional worlds, I spent time as a global traveler, living months at a time away from home. In the time that many people would consider "wasted", I built countless relationships, learned a plethora of new skills, and gained so much life experience. Some of the things that I did were: create a life for myself from nothing in Spain (housing, work, social life, etc.), oversee the construction of a house (while getting my hands dirty), go through the process of selling and purchasing real estate, and create a book club and a soccer club in Barcelona. Everything that I did, I did with passion. I always sought to bridge cultural/socioeconomic/language gap and to learning anything and everything. In the end, by "bum" year ended up being one of the happiest and most formative years of my life, and I am thankful to everyone who supported me.
Hobbies
Some of my hobbies include soccer, skating (roller-, ice-, and -boarding), and listening to music. I am a diehard FC Barcelona fan, and I have been for as long as I can remember. I am also very passionate about the fact that Spotify is better than Apple Music. Luckily, with the FC Barcelona and Spotify partnership, I can support my two favorite entities at once.
In addition, I love thrift shopping; but as much as I love the treasure that I find, it is all about the hunt. A nice pair of Levi's is probably the greatest treasure I could possibly find. Actually, I am a Levi's fanatic. I know all the numbers and all the styles for men and for women. In fact, I should really be the thrift shop consultant on Levi's.
On top of all that, I am a very social person, and I believe in bringing (positive) energy to any social interaction that I engage in. I love meeting new people, experiencing different cultures, and soaking up all the knowledge that people are willing to give me.
I thought it would be fun to ask a bunch of my closest friends to come up with some words to describe me. The overwhelming majority used the words:
- smart(ass)
- energetic
- fashionable
- organized
- sociable