When I’m not at work, chances are I’m out and about enjoying one of my many hobbies. Living in San Diego has given me the opportunity to have a very active lifestyle. There’s no place I’d rather be than on a sailboat off the coast of San Diego or SCUBA diving to the ocean floor. Among my other favorite hobbies are hiking, camping, swimming, rock climbing, biking and skiing.

Service
My biggest service commitment is toward scouting. I’ve stayed active in scouting ever since I received the rank of Eagle Scout in 1996. I currently serve as Advisor of Venturing Crew 959 and Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 959. I’m also a merit badge counselor for Backpacking, Journalism, First Aid, Lifesaving, Swimming and Soil & Water Conservation merit badges. I really enjoy working with youth and sharing the experiences I had when I was a scout. In the summer of 2003, I led a group of scouts on a kayaking trip along the eastern shore of Catalina Island. In 2005, I led a group of scouts on a trip to Zion, Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks in Utah and on a Sailing & SCUBA Diving excursion in Key West, FL. In 2006, we embarked on a Houseboat Trip to Lake Powell, and most recently in 2007, I led a group of scouts back on a Sailing & SCUBA Diving excursion in the Florida Keys.

I have also served as a member of the Volunteer Mountain Patrol at Mission Trails Regional Park. I consider the park to be my backyard, since it’s just a short stroll from home, and I have views of the park from all the rooms in my San Carlos condo. The park is one of the largest remaining open-space recreation areas in the City of San Diego. It was devastating to see 2,800 acres of the park burn in the Cedar Fire in October of 2003. I’ll never forget that terrifying sight: watching the flames burn fast over the rugged terrain while laying in my bed wondering if my neighborhood would be the next to burn. Fortunately, the winds died abruptly after the fire burned through Mission Trails.

Career
It was early on in my life when I made the decision to pursue a career in journalism. I developed my passion for journalism in the eighth grade, while working for the Eye On Parkway, the student newspaper of Parkway Middle School in La Mesa, Calif. The experience and curiosity that I developed in the field of journalism continued to spark my interest through high school. I served as news editor and business manager of The Foothill Echoes, the student newspaper of Grossmont High School.

Upon graduating from high school in June of 1997, I set my goal of pursuing a bachelor's of journalism degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Why the University of Missouri you ask? The Missouri School of Journalism is the oldest journalism school in the world and one with endless opportunities. It's the world's only journalism school, which owns and operates an affiliate television station, KOMU-TV. The school also produces the Columbia Missourian, the morning newspaper for the city of Columbia. These are just a couple of the things that sparked my interest in MU. During college, I stayed extremely busy while taking advantage of the countless opportunities available. I worked as a television news producer, reporter and photographer, cops/courts newspaper reporter, newspaper copy editor and Web designer for both the newspaper and television Web sites. In the summer of 2000, I was awarded an internship through the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund at Austin360.com in Austin, Texas. In the summer of 1999, I was an intern at KNSD-TV, the NBC affiliate television station in San Diego, Calif. After gaining four years of the most valuable experience a college student could receive, I graduated with a bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in political science in 2001.

After graduating from MU, I moved west to Reno, Nevada where I was the 11:00 p.m. news producer at KRNV-TV, News 4, the NBC affiliate. I had a great time working so close to Lake Tahoe, but just four months later, I jumped at a unique opportunity and accepted an offer in my hometown of San Diego, Calif.

I was offered a job at KNSD-TV, NBC 7/39, the NBC owned and operated station in San Diego on September 10, 2001. I started out working as an associate producer for the 11:00 p.m. newscast but was quickly promoted to producer of the weekday 6:00 p.m. newscast. While working as a producer, I also served as coordinating producer of elections and programmed the computer system, which took in the returns on Election Night. While the task was very intense, and at times, extremely tedious, there was nothing quite like seeing the returns come in for more than 100 candidates seeking to replace former Gov. Gray Davis in the infamous Recall Election. I never thought I’d be putting a winner’s checkmark next to Hollywood Star, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

After working in news for seven years, I began an exciting, new chapter of my life in May of 2004. I made a leap out of the news business and into the public sector. I'm currently working as a Water Conservation Specialist with Helix Water District. Helix is the largest water agency in San Diego County outside the City of San Diego. Responsibilities include coordinating and implementing water conservation programs and serving on several water conservation and policy committees on a local and state level. Other responsibilities include conducting classroom presentations, water treatment plant tours, newsletter writing and Web design. In March 2007, I began a second gig - working as a free-lance Field Surveyor for the San Diego Smart Landscape Program administered by Honeywell Utility Solutions.

What’s next you ask? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure. I’m keeping my lifestyle here in San Diego! I’m not sure there’s anything that could lure me out of America’s Finest City. There’s just not anything like it.