Major:Mathematics Education
Hometown: Scottdale, PA
Further Degrees: M.S. Civil Engineering, San Jose State University; Ph.D. City and Regional Planning, University of California, Berkeley
Current Employer: Lecturer, The University of Melbourne; Urban Economist, The World Bank
Most important enhancing experiences while at IUP: The Honors Core was the most enriching educational experience I've had to date. I was a late bloomer: it took me about ten years after graduating from IUP to understand that the constant access I had to people like Janet Goebel and Cheryl Begres, through their teaching in the Core, had foundationally changed the way I thought about the world. Looking back, I realize that they helped me to understand that the world was bigger than I thought it was, and, further, that I could go out into that world and be a player in its goings-on. As a small-town kid from Western Pennsylvania, it never occurred to me that one day I could travel the world and affect change in itthat I could be a strong voice in economic development, poverty reduction, and social justice in countries like China and Indonesia. That's exactly what I'm doing now, through my work as a professor and with the World Bank. And there's no doubt in my mind that those seeds were planted in the Honors Core.