Ever since I was little, I have been a lover of visual media and have had a pencil in hand. My mom took me to an art class when I was young, and there I experimented with tools and new techniques. Throughout it all, I never liked doing still lifes or basic imagery—I loved storytelling. I would draw spaceships flying quickly in combat, dinosaurs roaring, cowboys riding horses, or giant ships sailing across a pirate-covered sea. Art has always served a purpose for me: to tell a story.

Nowadays, I draw just for the sake of drawing, but my favorite pieces almost always have some sort of story to them, or at least an emotion or feeling I am trying to evoke. I have taken the techniques I learned about color, composition, and focus from drawing and applied them to cinematography and filmmaking, and each is vital to both. I can only use the camera to paint imagery because I was first forced to do so with my bare hands.

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The magic of movies comes from taking a break from reality, being whisked away to new worlds, and receiving a fresh perspective. Stories needn’t be complex or harsh—they can be fun, easy to follow, and full of heart. With strong characters and meaningful lessons, I aim to create experiences that leave audiences thinking, asking questions, and ultimately feeling better when the credits roll.​  To me, taking a camera, painting a picture with the light that passes through the lens, and then adding music and dialogue is, by far, the highest form of art. When it comes to motion pictures, I love creating emotion and intrigue in ways no other medium can; that’s what makes filmmaking magical to me.

 

I want to tell stories that are simple in design and elegant in execution.

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In the summer of 2025, I was looking forward to my Senior year of high school. I never thought of myself as college-bound, so my plan was to graduate and become an auto mechanic. At the time, I was making a full-length motion picture with my friends for fun. The process excited me so much that I talked to my mom about it incessantly. One day, she said, "I think you were made for more than fixing cars." She took me to Wichita State University for a campus tour, saying, "If it's not for you, that's alright, nothing changes. Keep an open mind; but if it is for you, then it could be great."

 

We toured the campus, including the Digital Arts building- Shocker Studios. As I walked through the halls, I realized, "This is where I want to be.” The environment, classrooms, equipment, and the people were all the things I wanted to be around. This is not just a school. It's a place for thought to grow and worlds to be discovered. It's a creative playground, and I want to play. In one moment, I was no longer a kid who thought he wasn't cut out for college. I had hope that I could do what I truly loved and dreamt about: making movies.  Over the next ten years, as I go to college, graduate, and relentlessly pursue a job in the movie industry, I want to constantly do four things: learn, grow, create, and excel.​​​​