​I was born and raised in The Bronx, New York, and the oldest of three siblings. While my upbringing was far from the best, I come from a good family that had many struggles with drug addiction, alcohol, physical and emotional abuse, and domestic violence. Coming from this type of familial demographic, my early coping skills and problem solving abilities were primitive at best. As a result, I have made some unfavorable life choices that have come with even more unfavorable consequences. Who I was as a person then, is not indicative of who I am today. Today, I am a college graduate, a man of faith, and a father of four wonderful children (two girls and two boys), and grandfather of four (three girls and one boy).  I have spent a small portion of my life in Savannah, Georgia, where I went to grade school for several years. I have also lived a good portion of my adult life in Maine, where I received my higher education from Southern Maine Community College, and The University of Maine at Farmington, where I graduated with honors from both schools. I completed my internship at Christian Care, a men's homeless shelter in Rock Island, Illinois which was an excellent learning experience in working with underserved populations. I am currently in the process of rebuilding my life and picking up the pieces from an intensely difficult and personal situation. I want to use what I have learned to give back by helping to rebuild communities like the ones I have once participated in destroying, and I am very excited to see the what the future holds. Having completed my bachelor’s degree in December 2018, it has always been my goal to use my education, coupled with my personal experiences, to help other people improve the quality of their lives, as people have helped me in the past. Ultimately, I would like to work in a capacity that will simply allow me to help others overcome some of life’s challenges, and not make some of the crucial mistakes I have made in my own life. Having learned and experienced as much as I have in my life, I truly believe I have a lot to offer, and that I am a great value in this regard and seek only an opportunity to demonstrate that. The commitment to using the lessons I have learned from all aspects of my life’s experiences to help others has become my life's purpose and guiding principle.