Biography

I was born and raised in Southwest Baltimore City and its surrounding suburbs. After graduating from North County High School in Ferndale, MD I enrolled in Anne Arundel Community College for their 2-year transfer program. In 2001 I received an Associate's Degree in the Computer Science Transfer program. In the Fall of 2001 I transferred to the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), in Catonsville, MD, were I studied Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. To pay for my studies, beginning in November of 2001 I was employed with a small company in Columbia, MD named COACT, Inc. There I worked in, and later managed, the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) Lab. After taking some upper level mathematics courses I decided I wanted to try graduate school. Following my graduation from UMBC in December of 2003 I took two additional upper-level mathematics courses in the spring of 2004. That summer I resigned my managerial position at COACT and enrolled at Clemson University in their master's program in Mathematical Sciences.

In August of 2004 I began my graduate studies. After successfully completing the Master's program in May of 2006 I decided to obtain my Ph.D. After several years of fighting through qualifying exams, finding a research topic, and successfully getting a result, I graduated with my Ph.D. in December of 2009. Since I graduated mid-school year, Clemson offered me an academic position as Visiting Assistant Professor for the Spring of 2010.

In July of 2010 I moved to Kansas City, Missouri to begin my life as a professor in statistics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).

When not working, I enjoy walking, hiking and camping, playing Ice Hockey and Softball. In addition, I am an avid genealogist and home-brewer.