My story starts in the year 1975 in a very small town located in Oklahoma where I was born. As I grew up my parents were a huge influence in my life, showing me that working hard and treating people the way I would want to be treated was the secret to success. My father and mentor, a University of Texas Graduate received an opportunity to advance his career when I was very young which required us to relocate to Austin. So as the saying goes "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here just as soon as I could." After graduating high school in Ausitn, I started my advanced studies at the American Broadcasting School in Oklahoma and then on to Tulane University in New Orleans where I focused on Communications. As an individual who takes pride in giving back to others, I was overwhelmed with excitement when given the opportunity to teach English as a foreign language to students at a university in Guadalajara, Mexico. But I had no idea how truly special this opportunity was about to be. I wanted to use my time in Guadalajara to not only help others but also improve myself, which is why I sat down with one of my professors and told him that I wanted to learn their local culture and language. My professor sat there quietly for a moment and then suggested that I buy a box of chocolates and find a young lady on campus by the name of "Evelia" who wanted to learn English. My professor said to be polite, hand her the box of chocolates and see if you can work out an arrangement to teach each other our respective languages and cultures. Now, one box of chocolate and many lessons later we are married and have an incredible daughter named "Mia" which is a daily reminder of why I need to get up every day and make a difference in this world so she is as proud of me as I am of my father. Which is why when it comes to my career I want to make a difference in the lives of others. I am honored that I get the opportunity to have important and meaningful conversations with people about protecting the most important things in their lives. I feel like I have an ethical obligation to always leave my clients in a better position than I found them in, and I achieve that through a simple philosophy: give people the unbiased information and education they need to be able to make the right choices for them and their goals. And when I sit down with my daughter and tell her what daddy does for a living, I get to tell her that I have the privilege of helping people through some of the most important decisions in their lifetime which is creating a plan so they can enjoy a long, stable and secure retirement while also taking care of the people they love. I am truly blessed!