It’s a great honor and pleasure to help students develop new skills and knowledge. I hope my students leave class with new skills, new perspectives, and new questions.
Senior Lecturer, New Media Institute
I believe we’re living during a unique moment in history. On one hand, the significance of computing technology is firmly established, as we’ve seen the rise of the internet, smartphones and apps. But on the other hand, as technologist Kevin Kelly says, “We’re still at the beginning of the beginning” of the modern technology revolution.
Great teachers and coaches played major roles in shaping my life–not just what I know or what I do for a living, but what I’m curious about, what I hope to contribute to the world and the kind of person I hope to be. The greatest moments in teaching come when students find new passions, when they discover new directions to explore in life, and when they learn to persevere—each of them is capable of putting a dent in the universe.
Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and autonomous vehicles offer just a few glimpses into the future. To me, it’s thrilling to study how we got to our current moment in time, the issues at hand now, and the profound ways that both of those things will shape our collective future.
Students love leveling up their abilities in a variety of digital skills, and it’s a blast to mentor and guide them in that work. I love the passionate discussions that take place in class between me, the students, and our industry guests, and I love hearing about the new perspectives students develop through these conversations—not just about the topics we’re discussing, but also about themselves and their career paths. Finally, I hope students learn to cultivate their interests and curiosity in class—that they leave class with new projects they want to undertake, new fields they want to explore.
Outside of teaching, I’m a husband to my lovely wife and a father to two young girls, so right now life is pretty centered around them–which I love! We spend a lot of time playing and working in the yard, going for walks and hanging out with neighbors. When I do have a bit of spare time, I enjoy running and playing ultimate frisbee, playing the occasional video game, watching great comedies on TV, and of course, I love cheering on the Dawgs during football season.