Tell us a little about yourself, when did you graduate? Where do you live?

I graduated in June, 2016 and am currently living in London, United Kingdom.

Please describe your current job/studies and how you got there.

I am currently undertaking a Master's Degree at the London School of Economics in International Business (GMiM program) after completing my undergraduate studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Having decided to pivot away from a role in the financial sector, I saw this Masters as an optimal pathway to get into renewable energy development, combining my interests in climate change solutions and business. Additionally, I am in the process of co-founding an e-commerce platform, Buzz Market, for independent coffee roasters in the United Kingdom. With a mission to bring sustainable coffee to the mainstream, we have partnered with suppliers undertaking direct sourcing from smallholder farmers who are paid living wages, and who practice environmentally friendly farming.

What is your favorite memory from your time at Wheeler?

My fondest memory from my high schools years is going for semi-regular pizza nights with the swim team (including our PCD members) at Flatbread Pizza my senior year. They were really fun evenings with an obscene amount of pizza consumed that brought everyone really close together leading to an undefeated season, and the development of meaningful relationships.

What are one or two of your proudest professional or personal accomplishments? 

Professional - working for an offshore wind developer to build new farms in the EU and New England.

Personal - finding a second home in a foreign land.

What would you consider the most important thing you learned at Wheeler? 

The importance of having a wide array of interests and the motivation to pursue them. Wheeler's emphasis on maximizing a holistic education and lifestyle, developing your skills (or lack thereof) in the arts (both performance and visual), working with great charities like Skate for Joy or Special Olympics, and filling your free time with interest club memberships was an intrinsically satisfying learning experience I couldn't have gotten anywhere else. What I learned was the wonders and benefits of having a diverse and curious mindset and a desire to be experiential. By compelling me to do and try everything, this learned mindset has become my approach to life.

What person, activity, or experience most influenced you while at Wheeler? How? 

While there were many amazing experiences I had a Wheeler, and an array of extremely engaging and impactful teachers (Madame Greenberg, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Boyd, Mr. Hanson, and Ms. Palomo, to name a few), the most influential aspect of Wheeler was definitely the culture, school/community's fostering of debate. Reflectively, this debate culture, pervasive throughout every aspect of my Wheeler experience, was so influential on my development, enabling me to hear and learn from a multitude of different perspectives, teaching me how to work with or engage effectively with a diverse group of people and opinions, and providing me with a confidence in my self-expression abilities to achieve my goals and get my viewpoint across.

Describe Wheeler in 3 words. 

Challenging, Exciting, Kind

What advice would you give those currently at Wheeler? 

Take advantage of the Aerie program and all the wonderful clubs and sport teams Wheeler has to offer. As much as you are trying to maximize your grades, you won't look back and remember all those hours getting an A on an English essay nearly as fondly as debating in the state debate tournament, the French onion soup soirée's with the French club, swimming in the NEPSAC championships, or taking a field trip to Harvard to show off your knowledge of Macroeconomics at an Economics tournament. Even more importantly though, befriend your teachers, it enhances your time at Wheeler like no other, making your learning and all the time you spend as part of the Wheeler community so deeply enjoyable.

What are you most looking forward to most in the coming years? 

Working in renewable energy development, primarily in offshore wind, partaking in our global problem solving efforts to resolve the threat of climate change.