- What are your career goals?
My career goals after college is to obtain a job working as a groundskeeper for a minor league baseball team eventually working my way up to a major league team managing their field. Or possibly starting my own sod farm back home in South West Ohio.
- What do you consider to be your most important ACADEMIC accomplishment?
As of now my most important academic accomplishment is getting my Associates Degree from The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute. Hopefully after fall semester of 2016 I can change that to having my Bachelors of Science in Turfgrass Management.
- What do you consider to be your most important WORK accomplishment?
My most important work accomplishment was being selected to work the 2015 Major League Baseball game. It was really something else that week. We spent the whole preparing the stadium to host the Mid-Summer Classic. Being able to be on the field when hometown hero Todd Frazier hit the final home run to become the Home Run Derby champion is something I won’t forget and can’t wait to tell my kids about. Also being at Great American Ballpark for the game was just electrifying, the crowd was crazy the game was spectacular. It made all the long days and sleepless nights worth it.
- What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time I like to watch sports mainly college basketball, college football, and Major League Baseball. I also like to spend time outside whether that be walking around the farm or mowing grass. I also like taking things apart to figure out how they work and putting them back together. At my current job at the Ohio State University Turfgrass Research Facility it gives me a chance to do all of these things.
- Is there something about your family or where you grew up that influenced your career interests? If not, how did you decide on your current major?
Growing up in a small agricultural community I have always been exposed to hard work and getting out what you put into things. As a kid we didn’t always have a great looking yard so when I got older around 14 or 15 I started to take more of and interest in our yard. I sprayed weeds, planted new grass seed, and many other things to help establish a new yard. This little project helped point me towards the major I have chosen. And by joining this major it has given me the chance to combine the things I really like; grass and sports. And by deciding to do this it has allowed me to do so many things already like I already mentioned above working for a major league baseball team, going on trips and meeting other people in the industry. This summer I will be attending a study abroad trip in England where I will get the chance to see how they across the pond do things and what kind of approaches they take.