I grew up in Riverton Wyoming, the middle of the middle of no-where. I spent my time working on the farm, building in the shop, and taking things apart to see how they worked.

In early high school I stumbled through a theater and was drafted into the roll of Guard 2 in Oliver Twist. I found the acting was thrilling, but the sets, lights, and fly systems were much more interesting.

So interesting and thrilling that I continued studying those and received associates degrees in both. That includes participating in all the other productions in my high school and college years. During that time I also worked at the college theater trying my hand at all the disciplines I could including: carpentry, painting, lighting, sound, sewing, and running queues.

During the summers I also worked at an audio company doing concerts and festivals. On top of that were other side jobs like customer service at a sandwich shop, mowing lawn, and in a maintenance department repairing and deep cleaning dorms.

I later moved to another state to Reno,NV to get residency. I found work performing sewing repairs at a outdoor clothing company. I enjoyed using an industrial machine so much I even bought my own Juki straight stitch machine.

During that time I started attending a Makerspace and that helped broaden my horizons to tools and equipment I had never had access to before. That was where I discovered my love for Laser CNC machining.

After a few years of using the club tool I invested in my own Laser machine from a Chinese company. It has been a hassle due to language, support, and quality issues; but with persistence I have improved the machine and optimized it for my use.

Using that tool I tried my hand at freelance manufacturing and learned a lot about how much work, motivation, and commitment it takes to run a business.

After I had residency I moved to Las Vegas Nevada to continue my study into the entertainment industry at UNLV. I did some volunteer work as well as the freelance manufacturing.

I found that selling items at flea-markets and events was hit or miss. Then while making some items for a Dungeons and Dragons group I was playing in, I stumbled across an interesting artist making printable figures. I negotiated and signed a contract with that artist and developed a ‘process of production’, then had moderate success with manufacturing double sided printed miniature figures for tabletop gaming.

Unfortunately college cost a lot more than moderate success, so I ended in a deficit. At that point I ended up finding work as a Mechanic full time. That became a double catch 22 and I was no longer able to commit time to manufacturing causing me to close that business. The second catch was that I was stuck at work from 7:30-4 every day and that stalled my school progress.

I spent 5 years digging my self out of debt and building up a savings. I was then able to quit that job and go back to school for my last year.

That brings us to the present, where I am in the final year of the Entertainment Engineering and Design program. The optional study routes I have focused on were:
-Structural for design and construction with civil engineering materials.
-Robotics and animatronics for designing systems with control systems and motors working in unison.