I was born in the small town of Harlan, Kentucky on September 12, 1979. I moved to Knoxville, TN at the age of 4 or so. I attended the University of Tennessee for my freshman and sophomore years of college, then participated in a foreign student exchange at the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan. Life in Japan was great. I ended up transferring to ICU and I stayed in Japan a total of two years. I came back to the US after that and finished my degree at UT, majoring in Sociology / Criminal Justice and minoring in Japanese. I graduated on December 14, 2003. My resume

While in Japan I learned a great deal about Japanese culture and my own culture as well. I made good friends with people from all over the world and really opened up my eyes to life outside of America.

On December 12, 2003, I married Azarina Jalil (Carmical). With college graduation, job searches, and preparing to move to a new city, we were too overwhelmed for a formal wedding so we just got married in Knoxville's courthouse.