I graduated from Beaverton High School in 1994. After high school, I attended Saginaw Valley State University. In 1999, I graduated from SVSU's College of Education earning a bachelor's of science degree with a biology major and English minor. I have been certified by the state of Michigan to teach high school science and English.  In 2004 I earned my Master in the Art of Teaching Natural Science degree from Saginaw Valley.

I was hired in the summer of 1999 to teach at Alpena High School.  I taught freshman science and Earth and space science at Alpena for a year. Then, in 2000, I was hired by my hometown of Beaverton.

I now live in Beaverton with my wife, Sally, our two dogs, Simba and Taz, our cat, Isis, and an iguana named Oz.