I'm a young professional in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I was born and raised, and were I returned three years ago after an 8 year hiatus. With a passion for community development, I do educational outreach for a new non-profit in town that does advocacy for public education reform in our county.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I miss traveling, a lot. For the past year, I have worked 7 days a week more often than I haven't, and I reached a breaking point. So I'm off again to bounce around the nation and - hopefully - to jet-set around the world too.

Interests

I play Ultimate Frisbee, run, practice yoga, ride bikes, love to read and watch comedies like 30 Rock and Parks and Rec.

I've always loved art but never been much of an artist myself; so I'm trying to change that by incorporating more creative endeavors into my day to day life.

• arts
• education
• yoga
• running
• boating
• traveling
• hiking
• camping
• scuba diving
• snorkeling
• swimming
• ecology
• teaching
• parks
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Dune. Still Life With Woodpecker. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. The Things They Carried. When You Are Engulfed In Flames. A Walk In The Woods. Amelie. The Princess Bridge. Zoolander. Lost In Translation.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

While hiking in the Smoky Mountains this summer, I came within 20ft of a Black Bear on the trail. We noticed each other at the same time and stared each other down for what seemed like the longest moments of my life. Had it not been for my Uncle hiking up the trail behind me shortly thereafter and the bear lumbering off into the woods, I wonder what would have happened. At 10:30pm that same evening - in another part of the park - a 16 year old boy who was camping with his father was torn from his hammock by a bear and attacked; his father drove off the bear, and the boy was air-lifted to a hospital, suffering, mainly, lacerations to the head.

The last time I was overseas, in 2005, I was snorkeling in the Yasawa Islands of Fiji surveying the health of reefs as part of a Reef Ecology project for a Maymester program with my University. We knew there was a trench where Manta Rays feed nearby the reef we were working in; we took a break to go spot them and found one right off the bat. We dove in and swam after it, perhaps trying to get as close as possible to get a good look. I didn't have to swim far when it slowly flipped and began gliding back toward me. Diving into a dark blue, abyss after a graceful, yet massive and intimidating creature seemed brilliant until it started swimming after me. Though they are harmless, I was afraid of what would happen if we made contact, and I swam back to the boat. Next time, I hope I have the courage to let it pass over me.

What I Can Share with Hosts

stories. laughter.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, England, Fiji, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland