“I didn’t choose film, film chose me.” Spike Lee said that, and it really rings true to me. As a young kid I didn't have filmmaking aspirations and I don’t even remember going to the theater until I was at least 10. But slowly, beckoning through the distractions of youth was filmmaking. Also, realizing how many math classes I needed to take to be an engineer made it an easy decision ;^)
My Dad instilled a strong work ethic in me through the character of sports. Growing up in Kauai, tennis is not the first athletic form a child comes across. Nonetheless, in the shadows of the surf, at age eight tennis is what I chose. She would be my childhood teacher, the instructor of perseverance, and the bringer of discipline and self-control. By sixteen she lead me on multiple trips across the country to both state and national tournaments. And later, to participate in the largest international tournament in the South Pacific.
After high school that same work ethic transitioned me into a bay area tech startup. Then on to the University of California Santa Barbara where I received a bachelors degree in film before moving to LA where I have been able to edit two award winning independent feature films and then on to TV shows at 20th Century Fox and Hulu.