My Story
Utila, Honduras, summer 2013
I first became fascinated with filmmaking after seeing Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong in theaters as a kid back in 2005. While others my age might have been inspired by the gun-slinging heroism of Jack Driscoll, I was drawn to the camera-carrying tenacity of Carl Denham. Although maybe not the best of role models for an impressionable 8-year-old, Carl, with his Bell & Howell 2709 film camera in tow, intrigued me. I decided then that I wanted to be, among many other things, a “movie director” just like him.
In high school, I embarked on an incredible two-week journey to study marine biology in Honduras. Our first week was spent on the luscious Utila Island, where I and a few other members of our group earned our PADI scuba certifications; for the second week, we were in Tela on the mainland, where we were out diving in clear-blue waters every single day, soaring over black corals and spotting lionfish and schools of bar jacks. It was an experience I will never forget.
These interests faded into the background over the years, but they remained always just beneath the surface, waiting to be reawakened. At the same time, however, my love of storytelling never faded, and I’ve been writing ever since I knew how, whether it’s epic fantasy or scientific analysis. It was not until, after many years, I crossed paths with an old and very dear friend that I realized, with profound clarity, that my childhood dreams were possible: I just needed to face my fears and take that leap of faith.
Now, I am a student at the Community College of Philadelphia, working towards an Associate in Applied Science in Digital Video Production and a Proficiency Certificate in Photography. My ultimate dream is to return to the water, this time with a camera in hand, and share with the world the wonders of the ocean and why that final frontier of Earth so dearly needs our help.
My directorial debut, summer 2025