Background & Interests
I grew up in a family of motor-heads. My dad had an passion for antique microcars and started collecting them when he was just a teenager. By the time I came around, his collection was quite large and played a significant role in my childhood development. Every summer, our family hosts a microcar event and collectors from all over the world come to our home for a three day weekend packed full of activities. This provided exposure to all things mechanical as I was immersed in it since the day I was born!
When I turned nine years old, I was finally tall enough to reach the pedals on a 1972 right-hand drive, standard transmission Mini Moke so my dad taught me how to drive. Ever since, I have been driving an assortment of unusual vehicles including BMW Isettas, Fiat 500s, Amphicars, and more! Over the years I have developed a passion for these unusual vehicles. This experience nurtured my curiosity in all things mechanical and created a desire to learn about how things operate.
My family piled into a tiny Brutsch Mopetta
1972 Mini Moke that I Learned to Drive On
These cars undoubtedly shaped my childhood and led me to choose a path in engineering.
By 17, I learned of the Nissan Figaro and became very interested. The Figaro is part of Nissan's "Back to the Future" campaign which consisted of four cars made by the Pike design studios from 1989-1991. The collection included a series of retro style cars known as the Figaro, Pao, S-Cargo and Be-1. With the help of my family, we were able to find and purchase a 1991 Figaro which helped further my interest in vintage cars. While this was not the first car of the collection that was mine, it was definitely one of my favorites. I was even featured in the MetroWest Daily News for finding and owning such a rare car at a young age.
I am also an active motorcycle rider. I acquired my motorcycle license through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course when I turned 16 and I have been riding ever since. I learned to ride on my sister's old Kawasaki Ninja 250 before purchasing my own Ninja 300. One of my favorite things to do is go on a nice scenic ride with no real destination in mind. Learning to drive antique cars and motorcycles has taught me a lot about both mechanical concepts and life concepts.
Another love in my life is animals. I have always grown up with pets. I have had a total of three dogs and two cats in my lifetime. At one point, I had three dogs, a German Shepherd/Shiba-Inu mix named Shiba, German Shepherd/Chow mix named Diesel, and a Chow Chow named Bullet. All of the dogs in my life have been rescues and each has a unique history. I am the type of person who will cross the street or go out of my way just to pet a dog that I see walking along.
My sister (right) and I (left) on a Motorcycle Ride
Some New Zealand Adventures
I am also very interested in travelling. Most recently, I participated in a two month study abroad semester in New Zealand from July through August 2019. During the program, I studied Fluid Dynamics and International Applications of Fluid Dynamics. This was a wonderful experience as this was my first visit to New Zealand previously. We were fortunate enough to be able to travel through both the North and South islands seeing cities such as Auckland, Paihia, Wellington, Queenstown, Christchurch and more! The views and hikes were breathtaking and I was even able to do some adrenaline boosting activities including a canyon swing jump. While I have traveled to other countries previously, this trip was one of my longest and most favorite and definitely sparked an even greater desire to travel in the future.