CURRENT MISSION

Explore the world and meet people who live there!

ABOUT ME

I grew up on a six generation rural Iowan family farm my whole life raising cattle, horses, chickens, turkeys, and a few other animals here and there. Although we raised quite a few animals, our main focus now is crop production. We plant around 1500 acres of corn (maize) and soybeans every year and continue to expand when land is available. I loved growing up on the family farm and I plan on raising my family here as well.

I studied in Vienna Austria in the spring of 2011 and backpacked around most of Europe with my girlfriend in the summer of 2011 staying and meeting with amazing people along the whole journey.

After meeting many great people and continuing my studies at Iowa State University studying Agronomy & International Agriculture, I realized that I wanted to take my knowledge abroad to developing countries. I, therefore, spent the summer of 2012 working for Heartland Global in Tanzania on an analysis of the seed maize industry.

In the summer of 2013, I went to Italy to visit my girlfriend who was studying abroad and we traveled around Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. We had the chance to visit a friend in Budapest, Hungary and we couchsurfed in Salzburg, Austria for a couple nights as well.

I was a graduate student studying Crop Production and Physiology at Iowa State University and moved to Masaka, Uganda from May 2014 until July 2015 to conduct my Master's research on identifying physical and chemical soil-related constraints limiting common bean production. After identifying these constraints we developed improved management systems to alleviate those constraints and tested these improved systems over a couple growing seasons.

In the summer of 2015, I spent a few weeks backpacking around Western Europe with a friend and enjoyed visiting many rural communities including working on a horse and dairy farm for a week in northwest Germany.

In Feb/Mar of 2016 I took a trip to Zambia to present my research on bean production in East Africa. I also spent time visiting Victoria Falls and crossed the Zambezi river into Zimbabwe by crossing the historic Victoria Falls Bridge.

In March 2017 I spent a couple weeks in South America with a couple friends. We hiked the Inca Trail through the Peruvian Andes, camping along the way to Machu Picchu, our final destination! We also spent a few days horseback riding through the Andes to Rainbow Mountain and visited the floating villages of Lake Titicaca!

PHILOSOPHY

"The Purpose of Life is to Live a Life of Purpose"

"Motivation Determines Success"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We've hosted a few guests visiting North Central Iowa when we lived there in 2016-2017.

I've hosted a few guests in Masaka, Uganda when living there in 2014-2015.

When I studied in Vienna, Austria in 2011 my friend and I showed a Polish and a Chinese girl around the city.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've stayed with many Couchsurfers and friends throughout Europe and the Middle East and have loved the experience and I really want to continue to explore and learn about other people's lives in other parts of the world!

Interests

All sports, but especially Basketball and Sand Volleyball.

I'm very much like my Grandpa in the sense that I like to have conversations with anyone, including strangers. I also love learning about different cultures and languages, especially German since that is where most of my ancestors came from.

• animals
• horses
• chickens
• traveling
• socializing
• backpacking
• sports
• basketball
• volleyball
• agriculture
• languages
• tourism
• drinks
• food and drinks

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Spring 2017-Hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, horseback riding to Rainbow mountain, boat rides to the floating villages of Lake Titicaca

Spring 2016-Visited Victoria Falls in Zambia

Summer 2015- Backpacked around Western Europe for 4 weeks visiting friends in eight countries.

Spring 2015- Took overland and boat safaris around Uganda. Visited Kigali, Rwanda and the sites where the horrific genocide occurred in 1994. Went white-water rafting down the Nile River from Lake Victoria.

Summer 2014 - Summer 2015 worked and lived in Masaka, Uganda

Summer 2014 - I worked in Gurúè , Mozambique

Summer 2013 - I backpacked for a couple weeks through central Europe with my girlfriend.

Summer 2012 - I climbed Africa's tallest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa! 19,341ft. Took overland safaris throughout northern Tanzania and went snorkeling off the coast of Zanzibar.

Spring 2012 - I backpacked for a week through the canyons in the Grand Gulch Primitive Area in Southeast Utah.

Spring and Summer 2011- I backpacked through Europe and visited 17 countries.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Uganda, United States