- Birthdate: May 5th, 1990
- Hometown: Stratford, ON
- Interests: Sports, fitness, nutrition, technology, economics/business, psychology, music, Youtube
- Favourite sports team: Toronto Maple Leafs (unfortunately)
- Favourite books: Harry Potter, Sapiens, The Brain That Changes Itself
A brief bio –
I grew up in Stratford, Ontario and had what most people would consider a pretty normal childhood. Outside of school, much of my time was spent playing sports and video games, and hanging out with friends. I started playing squash when I was around 10 and it quickly turned into a favourite pastime of mine. As a teenager, I spent a considerable amount of time training and competing in squash tournaments across Ontario and into Western Canada.
I moved to Toronto when I was 19 to go to Guelph-Humber University for a degree in Media Studies. Halfway through my degree I landed a part time job working as the ‘maintenance-guy’ at a squash club in Mississauga. One thing led to another and, before I knew it, I was teaching lessons at the club. My part time job in Mississauga turned into a full-time position at a small club in West Toronto which turned into my current job as the Assistant Squash Pro at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, a.k.a. the TLTC or “the Lawn”.
When I began working at the TLTC, I discovered that a vocation of mine is working with kids. Most of what I do at the Lawn is give lessons to juniors between the ages of five and 15 years old which I really enjoy. I’m incredibly lucky to get to coach my favourite sport for a living, but what I like most about my job is bonding with the kids on the squash court. On top of teaching them squash, I get to shape their character by helping them see the value in working hard, maintaining focus, practicing, showing respect to others, etc. I find this aspect of my job very meaningful and have realized I’m more interested in helping kids develop into well rounded, competent individuals than I am in coaching them to be great squash players. (But don’t get me wrong, I still love coaching them squash!)
Besides studying math, these days I spend most of my free time taking my dog for walks, reading, going for bike rides, playing the piano, and watching YouTube. Recently, I’ve become more interested in things like renewable energy, technology, business, economics, and psychology so a lot of what I read/watch revolves around those subjects. I really enjoy spending time outdoors and try to go for hikes outside of Toronto as often as I can.
If you’re dying to know more about me (which I’m sure you are), check out this project I worked on last summer, 11 Things That Had A Positive Impact On My Life.