Life lessons from my mom; In life you’re going to have many choices. A, B, C or D, are not wrong. You must choose one and go with it until you can’t. That is the correct answer, not doubting yourself while you’re going down one path. The only wrong answer is to not choose and be stagnate.

When I was 11, I camped at the bottom of the Grand Canyon for 3 days. On our way out of the canyon I was walking over the rope bridge to cross the Colorado river. As the river was raging, I could barely hear my dad behind me. I was a little over halfway across the bridge and snap, the wooden plank I stepped on gave out and I almost slipped into the river. I gathered myself together and knew that I was determined to get through this one step at a time. Before I knew it, I was off the bridge and on the other side. That hike lasted all day and I had to take on a lot of weight from my dad’s pack. I think that moment in my life is what drives me to be who I am today.

My favorite place to vacation is Tahoe. The air is so clean, and the water is clear. I love the contrast of the landscape from the death of the desert to the life in the mountains. It also reminds me of being isolated on the lake during the COVID lock down.

I have never let an obstacle deter me from finding my success. Whether that meant becoming one of the youngest nuclear supervisors in the Navy, connecting shore power cables in the middle of a typhoon, becoming a navy diver, traveling around the globe, or earning an electrical engineering degree in three years. People will always throw their own insecurities and disbeliefs in your face. Instead of doubting myself I have always found a way to succeed even if I don’t see the path.