What’s your secret talent that no one knows about?
My secret talent isn’t much of a secret; I’m an excellent cook. I especially enjoy cooking for others. Food brings people together and creating a great meal that people genuinely enjoy always feels like a gift. I enjoy watching other people appreciate what I’ve made, so the effort is worth it.

Who, living or dead, would you like to eat dinner with the most? And why?
This question was tough; there are many incredible people throughout history that I would like to talk to, spend an hour picking their minds. In the end, I have a straightforward answer, my little brother. He’s an executive chef and has spent years traveling to work in some incredible restaurants. He’s passionate about food in a way that you have to experience to understand. If he’s taking you out to restaurants or having you over for dinner, it’s going to be an experience like no other.

How did you get into construction?
Usually, when someone asks me how I got into construction, I tell some terrible joke about how I fell through a set of floor joists when I was six years old. The truth is that it actually did happen, and I still remember how that concrete floor felt. I had wandered down the street from my house and ended up in the middle of a new home being built. Wanting to be ever closer to the action, I walked across the floor joists and eventually lost my footing. Luckily for me, I didn’t break anything. I was a kid who was obsessed with understanding how the world around me worked. That drove me towards construction. At least within construction, I could break things down into components and figure out the best way to build them. By the time I was graduating college, I had misplaced some of that passion. Although I was building homes between classes, I found myself considering applying to law school. In my senior year, the University library was undergoing a major structural and architectural renovation. In my heart, I knew that I belonged out on that job site. It was a beautiful project. This building was being shored up and torn apart while fully occupied. Students and professors were still roaming the halls. I was watching them rebuild it around us. That complexity rekindled that fire for me. Instead of law school, I applied to the college of engineering, and that has led me here.

What is one thing on your bucket list and will you accomplish it?
Big wall rock climbing, outside on a huge rock face, climbing a piece of a mountain. Yes, I do or at least I hope I will accomplish it.