My Interests & Hobbies
Music
According to Spotify, I spent 49,053 minutes listening to music in 2023, and 16,323 of those minutes were Drake, putting me in the top 0.05% of his fanbase. While Rap is my most listened-to genre, I also listen to a lot of Classic Rock, Pop, and R&B (I’ve also been trying to get more into House and EDM). I take my Spotify account a little too seriously: I carefully curate all of my playlists and custom design my playlist covers. Feel free to check out my Spotify profile here! I love learning about the history behind music, music production, and the music industry as a whole. Some of my favorite artists are Drake, J. Cole, Tyler the Creator, Jay-Z, Eminem, Billy Joel, Beyonce, Lil Wayne, Jack Harlow, Rihanna, Frank Sinatra, Bruno Mars, SZA, and KYLE. Check out my little music page with some of my favorite albums and music videos here. I got the opportunity to learn about music in an academic setting in my “Towards a New Music” class, which covered the philosophy of and meta patterns behind music, which I absolutely loved. I have also been taking the time to learn how to play the piano, which has been a great experience so far!
Graphic Design
Ever since I was first introduced to Photoshop in a digital art course in middle school, it has been a big part of my life. While I do know how to use Adobe Illustrator and Premier Pro, Photoshop has been the Adobe program I use most often. Whether it’s for a personal project, a favor for a friend or family member, school, a job, or my own business, Photoshop has proven over the years to be an incredibly useful tool, and one that I really enjoy using. While I certainly do not consider myself an expert, I take pride in what I do and never use anything that I don’t believe is high quality.
Film & Media
I’ve always enjoyed watching movies, but in the past couple of years, I have begun to appreciate cinema in a different way. Whether it’s a comic book movie, a laugh-out-loud comedy, a drama, an art film, or anything in between, I love the movie experience. The viewing experience is amazing within itself, but I also enjoy learning about the entertainment industry and all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating a film. I got the opportunity to learn about screenwriting in my senior year in high school, and while I was interested beforehand, that class definitely got me more engaged. After hearing so many great things about the Film program at WashU, I decided to minor in Film and Media Studies. On my own time, I have researched the process of filmmaking and continue to learn about the intricacies of the industry as a whole: stunt work, special effects, directing, producing, acting, etc. It excites me that I still have so much more to learn and so many more movies to check out. Feel free to check out my Letterboxd profile here!
Poker
What I love about poker is how much deeper it is than just knowing the rules of poker - truly knowing how to play poker means a lot more than that. The game constantly challenges you to think about your relative position at the table, your cards, the order and size of bets, the impact of stack sizes, and much more. Every hand requires a different approach based on these shifting factors, making every hand unique. I’ve been playing poker casually for many years and believe it’s a great way to socialize with friends.
Entrepreneurship
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to business. While I’m still exploring my long-term goals, I’ve realized that I have a strong entrepreneurial instinct. Whether it's my experience with Campus Creamery or a growing interest over time, I’ve noticed a shift in how I view the world around me. Not only do I find myself thinking about the business side of products and services, but I’m always identifying niche problems and consumer needs, constantly brainstorming how I could enter a market or take a unique approach. When I walk into a restaurant, I think about turnover rates, marketing strategies, labor costs, and layout. When I ride in a taxi and see a tablet with a game, I think about the developers behind it, its pricing structure, and the competitive landscape. This mindset is with me even as a consumer—I’m always considering how things work and how they could be improved.
Sports & Fitness
I love watching and playing football and basketball. I wish I had more time, but these days I’m really only able to watch the playoffs (and keep up week-to-week with some YouTube highlights). I like to play tennis with friends and family in my free time, and every time I go home to Miami, you’ll find me paddle boarding (and now playing pickle ball too!). In addition to the recreational sports I enjoy, gaining healthy weight has been a big goal of mine for a while, so the gym has become a big part of my life in addition to my diet. I try to go six days a week on a push, pull, legs split.
NFT’s & The Blockchain
Many people hear these terms - NFT, blockchain, Web3 - and dismiss them as part of this ridiculous internet fad. On the other hand, there are many ‘degens’ who have become completely engulfed in this world and keep up with every new project and news story in the space. I am somewhere in between these two groups. While I’m not sure how much of the culture and projects that exist today will make it past the next decade, I think the underlying technology will play an important role. Decentralization and the blockchain are going to take over commerce, transactions, and ticketing even if the average consumer doesn’t understand the technology or even know they are interacting with it at all. I’ve done some personal investing in the space, resulting in a significant ROI, and always try to stay up to date. While I don’t plan on doing any more trading in the near future, I plan to keep a close eye on this exciting technology as it continues to evolve.
Theme Parks
I wrote my supplemental essay for WashU about how my primary major (at the time), Systems Engineering, relates to my interest in theme parks. Not only am I enamored by the complexity behind the operations of a theme park, but also the creative side. I used to spend countless hours on Planet Coaster, a theme park design simulator, building all different types of things: roller coasters, theme parks, replicas of houses, Brookings Hall at WashU, a realistic low-income housing model for my architecture course, and more. I took a Disney Imagineering online course over a summer where I got to take a deeper look at theme park design. I loved watching the documentary series about Disney on Disney+ and the documentaries on Milton Hershey and Hersheypark. My interest in themed environments extends to hotels/resorts, cruise ships, etc. so I always love learning about all of those industries.