I was born in Des Moines, Iowa but grew up two hours away in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Cedar Rapids is very industrial, is nicknamed the City of Five Seasons, and is also the largest processor of corn in the world. Striving to succeed in everything I do is something that was ingrained into me by my older brother Dillon. I had worked hard throughout grade school to set myself up to go to college the way he had. The greatest lesson I learned from growing up is that you have to celebrate your successes because in order to make sure the hard work was worth it you need to have some fun and unwind.
After high school, I went to the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!) and majored in Enterprise Leadership, minored in Business Administration, and earned a certificate in Nonprofit Management. I was heavily involved in leadership with my fraternity Pi Kappa Phi, and in University of Iowa Dance Marathon where I met my fiancé Katie.