I grew up loving aviation and wanted to become a pilot or an engineer. But because I was raised in a very conservative Christian church that believed higher education was wrong, I had to put my dreams behind me if I was to follow church doctrine. I ended up finishing high school and getting a job in the construction industry, which I actually enjoyed because I am still doing it after 20 years. I left that oppressive church a few years after moving out of my parents' house and I now have two kids and a wife of 10 years. Several years ago, in a conversation with my wife about our future and the reality that I cannot just do heavy manual labor for the rest of my life, she encouraged me to revisit my childhood dreams. I ended up enrolling parttime at Florida Gateway College and graduating there three years later with my AA with a 4.0 GPA. I am now attending UF full time and have loved the coursework. I am very excited to be working towards something I have always had a great passion for.