Q: What are you involved in here at Simpson College?

A: I am the president of Best Buddies and the president of the Tabletop Gaming Club. I am also the social chair of S.A.R.A. as well. I am also a member of the tennis team and an active member in SAE.

Q: What was it like transitioning from living in Illinois to going to school in Iowa?

A: Iowa and Illinois are similar in temperature. Iowa has more drastic winters, but the summers are almost identical. But transitioning from Illinois to Iowa was easy. The only hard part was being away from my family.

Q: What is Best Buddies and how important is it to you?

A: Best Buddies is an organization for providing support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disorders and you get partnered up with a buddy. You are their best friend. You keep in contact with them, because it is hard for those individuals to maintain lasting meaningful friendships, so it is our pleasure to provide those friendships to those individuals. It is important to me because my brothers have some developmental disorders, and knowing that I am making a difference for others like that means the world to me. It helps me realize how important it is for those individuals to have friends.

Q: What inspired you to create Tabletop Gaming Club?

A: Coming into college I was one of those nerds that laid low in high school. Being one of the popular kids in high school, I did not want to tarnish that with my nerdy side. In college, I found a more accepting environment. So I wanted to provide a place for people like me who were afraid to expose their nerdy side to be able to be involved with an environment where they don’t have to be afraid to do that and it’s turned out really great. In college, it is usually different, people are not afraid to be themselves, and for those people, they still enjoy coming to the club and hanging out with their friends and playing games.

Q: What is next for you after graduation?

A: Right now, I am applying for web development jobs. Mostly front-end development, which means everything you see when you open up a website. Everything that happens in the background is back-end. I’ve applied at the Pokemon Co. in Washington. It’s a long shot, but it would be a dream come true if I got to work there. Actually, I’m taking over my mother’s website. She has a business in my hometown called Guilty Pleasure Cupcake Bakery.

Q: What are some tips you would give to new students coming in from out of state when it comes to adjusting to life in Iowa?

A: The most important tip I would give to someone is to not do something just because someone wants you to. Just worry about what you want to do and what you want to be. My family wanted me to be something else but I was like, ‘just let me think of something that would be high paying like a lawyer’ and I started taking classes and I hated it. I knew I had to get out of it. I ended up finding my way to computer science and that was the best decision I have ever made. Just find something that you love to do.