I was born and raised in Cypress, California. I attended the University of Texas at San Antonio and majored in information systems. After I graduated from there, I found a job working for a Internet-hosting company. While working there, I felt lifeless and empty. I knew I needed to do something that was meaningful and had purpose.
My story into photojournalism started when I went to a museum called, the Newseum in Washington D.C. The museum had a photo gallery of all the Pulitzer-award-winning photos. I was going through a roller coaster full of emotions at the gallery. I cried, shook my fist in anger and smiled all within a hour’s time. I came away inspired by stories and images on display there. After seeing that, I realized how powerful images and multi-media could be on people. I wanted to give people that feeling of emotions that I felt and help contribute to our society.
I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in digital and print journalism from the University of North Texas. While going there, I was fortunate enough to work on the Heart of Mexico project twice. It was a great learning experience, it helped honed my multi-media skills and realize that there is so much of the world I want to discover.
I have been working for the Denton Record-Chronicle as a staff photographer since May 2016. I get to photograph some pretty amazing things in Denton County and I’m blessed to be a photojournalist. Few people get to tell other people that they get to take photos for a living. While I love photography, what I love the most about my career is that I feel like a vital part of the community, get to experience and learn new things and I get to build lasting relationships.
I am always looking to improve my visual storytelling in anyway that I can or find ways that will open up more doors to stories. It’s all about having fun, making a difference in the world and being the best visual storyteller that I can be.
Dr. Myles Munroe said, “The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without a purpose.”