December 7, 2024: I'm splitting my time between Hartford, CT and New York, NY. I'll be heading up to Sugarloaf on December 20th, and spend most of January in Italy!
๐ผ What I’m Currently Doing
I’m a software engineer, small business owner, and student.
I run The People Company, which is a staffing agency that connects talent in economically disadvantaged countries with work opportunities in the United States.
We have about 25 full-time staff between the USA, Phillippines, and Nigeria, and are profitable, sustainable, and growing at a healthy pace.
Theater is a big part of my life; I see 3-5 shows per week. My side project Understudies.org has sent 140,000+ email alerts to NYC theatergoers when understudies go on across Broadway.
I'm the youngest board member at Hartford Stage, a Tony Awardยฎ-winning theater in Connecticut. I'm part of the Stage One group, which is the young professionals arm of the Board.
โ What I’ve Worked On In The Past
I ran one of the most selective student film festivals in the US, the Student Film Awards, with my co-director, Emmy Award winning editor John Musulin. We ran for 6 years, receiving 10,000+ submissions from 125+ countries. We wrapped up in September 2023 after failing to reach an agreement with our institutional partner.
When I was 16, I wrote a book on teen entrepreneurship and got invited to give a TEDx talk on the same topic. I’m proud of both of them, but the problem with writing a book when you’re 16 is that your thinking evolves very quickly. I still think both are good resources for young entrepreneurs, but my current viewpoints have changed significantly.
๐ Academic Affiliation
I’m a senior at Trinity College, where I was admitted as an 1823 Scholar. Apparently that designation means I have “strong academic vitality and personal character“. ๐คทโโ๏ธ
I am making the most of it. The benefit of attending a liberal arts school is I can shop around and take classes I'm interested in across many disciplines. I just wrapped up an independent study where I read, analyzed, and discussed 18 Arthur Miller plays. Earlier last year, I took a class about postcolonialism in the Philippines! There's a few gems like that!
My academic advisor is the extraordinary Katherine Lahti. Most of my active work on campus is with/in the Entrepreneurship Center, headed by serial entrepreneur Danny Briere.
While at Trinity, I had the opportunity to spend three semesters studying closely under Garry Apgar, hailed by Jerry Beck as “as one of the finer Disney historians writing today.” Apgar was an art historian for Diane Disney Miller, author of “Mickey Mouse: Emblem of the American Spirit“, and is current president of the Voltaire Society of America. My research under Apgar focused on the life, career, and family genealogy of James Baskett, who played Uncle Remus in ‘Song of the South’ and became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for his performance.
๐๏ธ Fun Things I’ve Done/Am Doing
In July 2025, I'm moving to London. The plan is to spend a month in London, then a month traveling, and alternate.
In January 2025, I'm spending a few weeks traveling by train across Italy - starting in Milan and working my way south. If you live in Milan, Parma, Naples, Florence, Bari, or Rome, I'd love to say hi! I also want your food recommendations.
In Summer 2024, I spent the summer in Moscow, Russia.
In January 2024, I took a cross-country Amtrak trip and visited 18 cities. I started in New York, went west through Chicago to Portland, down the California coast, back east through Texas and New Orleans, and then up through Atlanta to D.C. and back home.
In 2023, I saw 152 shows across Broadway, regional theater, the West End, and touring houses.
In March 2023, I spent two weeks in Morocco, marking my seventh continent visited (including Antarctica!) bringing me to 28 countries visited in total.
๐ Books I Love
Here are a handful of books I’ve read, reread, and recommended to people this year:
๐ง People I Admire
Here are some people I look up to and think are excellent at what they do.
Some I speak to daily, some I’ve never met in-person, and some are dead.