The Groom (as told by himself) I was born in Wellsville, NY and raised in Friendship, Olean and Brockport, NY. I have no memories of Friendship, as my family moved to Olean when I was 2. We lived in Olean from the time I was 2 until 8th grade, when we moved to Brockport, NY. I spent much of my time in middle and high school playing sports, spending time with my family and doing church activities. My favorites were long distance running, basketball and Bible quizzing. Unfortunately, my other hobby seemed to be getting injured, so I’m not really able to enjoy the former two as I once did, but I stayed actively involved in quizzing until I moved to an area where staying involved became impossible. As I started my college search, I was nearly certain I was headed to Taylor University, in Indiana. Fortunately plans change, and in the end I ended up attending Houghton, starting in 2000, where I met Jillian (more on that later). I spent my time at Houghton as a Bible and then Psychology (although, truth be told, more of a Jillian) major. After leaving Houghton, I returned to Olean. Staying with my grandparents, I spent 2 and a half years providing before and after school care for elementary age students through a program with the YMCA. I truly enjoyed this time and through this experience, I learned more about myself and started pursuing a career in computers through American InterContinental University On-line. While finishing up my last few courses before graduation, and with the aid of my sister-in-law, I landed a job in southern Maryland (Lexington Park, specifically), with ManTech as a software engineer. Very grateful and excited by this opportunity, I moved in with my brother and sister-in-law in southern Maryland and began work in April of 2007. The past year has been filled with many blessings; I bought a new car, graduated, got a new (old) fiancée and a new nephew, in the form of the cutest creature God ever created. I am very grateful for all these things and look forward to the joys and challenges of the future. <-- Previous Story  Return Home