Outside of work and education, I’ve always had a wide range of interests that keep me learning and building new skills. I’ve never been the type to sit still for long, bouncing from hobby to hobby by the week. I like working with my hands, solving problems, and diving deep into whatever I’m curious about. These hobbies aren’t just ways to unwind; they’ve shaped how I think about engineering, design, and even teamwork.
One of my biggest passions is cars - something that’s been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I love everything about them, from the engineering and design to the process of building, tuning, and refining a machine to perform its best. I enjoy the process of taking something mechanical apart, understanding how it works, and putting it back together in a way that performs better or feels more personal. There’s a similar satisfaction to coding; finding efficiency, balancing performance and reliability, and learning through iteration. I also love the community aspect of car culture including talking builds, going to meets and cruises, and appreciating how everyone adds their own personality to their garage.
Driving is another part of that passion. I enjoy spirited drives on winding backroads, the sound of a tuned engine, and the feeling of being fully connected to the machine. For me, cars represent both freedom and focus - a reminder of how precision and creativity can coexist. They’re also a reminder to stay patient and act deliberately, especially when you’re troubleshooting or improving a build. I apply these lessons directly to engineering and coding.
I’ve also always been drawn to the outdoors. Climbing, hiking, biking, skiing, swimming - anything that gets me moving and outside helps me reset. I love the challenge and calm that come from being in nature, where things are simple but never easy. It’s where I do some of my best thinking, and where I’ve learned patience, flexibility, and persistence. These qualities translate surprisingly well into technical work.
Whether it’s summiting a mountain, finishing a long trail ride, or tackling a tough climbing route, I find that outdoor experiences teach me balance and perspective. They keep me humble and remind me of how much there still is to explore. They also keep me creative. Problem-solving on a climb or planning a route feels a lot like debugging or designing a system (with better views).
Recently, I’ve started exploring photography as a creative outlet. It began as a way to document my adventures and visits to car meets, but it’s quickly become something I genuinely enjoy for its own sake. Photography blends art and technology in a way that’s incredibly satisfying. It’s about timing, precision, and intuition all at once. I love the process of learning how to capture a feeling through the lens of a camera.
Like coding or engineering, photography is a skill that rewards attention to detail. I enjoy experimenting with framing, depth, and motion to tell a story through an image. It’s taught me to slow down and appreciate small moments like the light hitting a mountain peak at sunset, or the reflections on a freshly detailed car. It’s something I’m still new at, but the process of learning something new has always excited me, and driven me to be the best I can be.
