I retired from the US Army in 2017 and my family and I decided to settle in Buffalo, NY. During my time in the military, I visited and lived in over 15 different countries and experienced many things in my travels. I was deployed several times for humanitarian and ambassadorial duties. Additionally, I have four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. My deployments taught me many things ranging from perseverance and grit to empathy and compassion.

While still on active duty, I started to further my education. I earned my A.A. in General Studies and once I retired I continued to pursue a higher level of education and earned a B.S. in Psychology. For a brief time, I went to work as a Special Needs Youth Care Worker. My responsibilities were to teach residents about and provide them with assistance in the areas of daily and independent living skills necessary for success in the community and at home with their families. Furthermore, I felt it was necessary to further my education once again and decided to continue my studies. I am currently earning my M.S. in Child, Youth, and Family Studies.

I have been training at Karate Ken’s for two years and feel that I have found a home away from home. I truly enjoy learning from all of the instructors and enjoy when I have the opportunity to pass that knowledge on to the next individual. I am honored and excited to be an assistant instructor at Karate Ken’s and have a passion for working with children. My goal is to earn my black belt and help others achieve their goals, just as others have helped me. My other martial arts experience includes Muay Tai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. However, my passion is Kenpo Karate and as always, “It’s a great day at Karate Ken’s!”