Nothing worth having is easy
/My time in high school
Attended high school in the
2000s
Overall high school experience
9/10. Everyone was friends with everyone. No matter what "clique" you hung out with, we were all one big group of friends more than anything else. Very little animosity amongst classmates and schoolmates. Great atmosphere to be surrounded by. It was competitive for sure, but competition is good. I feel like it brings out the best in people and having played sports for most of my life, I relished in the competition.
Grades in high school
B's and C's. Wasn't always the best student, but that was more of a reflection of effort than anything else.
Favorite subjects
History / Social Studies, Physical Education, Science
Struggled with...
Calculus. We had a very poor teacher who left after a month or so my senior year. After she left, a sub replaced her who was the poorest excuse for a teacher I'd ever seen. Most if not all of the class failed his exams and he placed the blame squarely on us. Needless to say, motivation to succeed was very low and I dropped the class after the 3rd quarter.
Favorite extracurricular
Sports / Recreation
Life since high school
“Becoming a father has been the greatest thing I could ever hope to accomplish....the investment, the care, the love you put into your children is something that is returned 10x...Like anything, it takes time and effort to raise them and it’s not always easy, but like I tell my son, nothing worth having is easy.”
Attended college / university at
San Jose State
Majored in
I majored in Advertising with a Minor in English
Places lived in US
California
Current occupations / past occupations
I'm currently a Senior Manager of Ad Operations at a Video Advertising company. I've been involved in digital media since I graduated college and I love it.
Industries I've worked in
- Retail Trade
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (e.g. Law, Accounting, Interior Design, Graphic Design, R&D, PR, Advertising, etc.)
Did your education prepare you for your career or occupation?
Yes my education at SJSU had a direct impact on my career. It helped me understand the value of networking and to this day continues to provide value.
Has your education or career/occupation trajectory ever changed? How?
No. Been involved in advertising since graduating from SJSU
A little introspection...
To me, being successful means...
Being able to come home to my wife and kids and give them all hugs at the end of the long work day. Material items don't carry the same meaning as they used to and being able to provide for my family and see smiles on their faces means I'm doing what I was meant to. That's success.
My definition of success has changed over time.
Success as a youngster is almost always tied to finances. In order to achieve those financial successes, you needed to get a 4.0, go to Stanford, become a VC, or a doctor or a lawyer and so on. As you grow in your career, you realize that success comes in the smallest forms and over time they grow to something big. If money drives you, then work your tail off to earn as much as you can. If happiness drives you, then do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.
My greatest accomplishment to date and what I’ve learned from it
Becoming a father has been the greatest thing I could ever hope to accomplish. Your life takes a 180 and your priorities are now tied to their needs and not your own. But the investment, the care, the love you put into your children is something that is returned 10x. A simple hug or a smile or high five, or even 10 seconds of cuddling on the couch watching a Raiders game, before their toddler instinct to run around kicks in, is everything. Like anything, it takes time and effort to raise them and it's not always easy, but like I tell my son, nothing worth having is easy.
My biggest mistake or regret so far and what I’ve learned from it
Not realizing my potential until later in life. in high school I got decent grades, but my biggest fear was failure and having to live with that. Now, failure motivates me and you learn as you grow up that failure isn't everything and doesn't carry the same weight as it did in your younger days. I was invited to an invitational track meet my Sophomore year I believe and was on the starting line for the 100M sprint. I was so nervous and trying to gather myself on the starting block. The anticipation was so much that I jumped the gun and false started and needless to say, was disqualified. I left the track in tears and my coach, teammates and dad all came to console me as the other runners raced down the track towards the finish line. That feeling of failure was so dramatic and overpowering in that instance that I didn't know what to do. Looking back now, it was just a race.
An unexpected event that significantly changed my life and how it impacted me
My father was injured at work in August of 2000. Since then he's suffered from a myriad of health problems and it's changed the way we view life as a family. The silver lining in his injury was that the school he worked at, a very high number of them who taught there until retirement ended up getting diagnosed with cancer, due to the asbestos that was prominent at the school. He was able to get out early and though he has a physical ailment that to this day he still suffers from, he avoided what could have been a much worse fate. You learn that there is always a silver lining and being that my glass is always half full, you relish those silver linings and focus on them rather than the negatives.
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