"The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice." - Brian Herbert. This quote describes my career remarkably well. Ever since I was young, I've had a passion for learning new skills and then excelling at them.After graduating at the top of my class in mechanical engineering at BYU, I spent the last two years pursuing my MS in mechanical engineering. As if learning all the physics, math, chemistry, programming, etc. to get my bachelors degree wasn't enough, I wanted to learn not only how to do them, but how to apply all these things to a real world problem. For my master's thesis, I dove into the realm of materials science and integrated my knowledge of programming, data analysis, and physics to help contribute to the understanding of how to create high strength-to-weight metals. I came away with a much more confidence in my ability to understand a problem and solve it. But I still wasn't done learning! With a solid technical background, I decided to expand my capabilities and spent two more years earning an MBA to help me to apply the lessons I learned to the business world. For my first 2.5 years after college, I've continued to learn and put my education into practice at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, where I worked as a systems integration and test engineer. I gained valuable experience working with hardware and at test events. Life eventually took me back to Utah where I currently work at Northrop Grumman as an embedded software test engineer, allowing me to stretch and develop my SW skills a bit more.But academia isn't the only place I strive to learn at. I've recently discovered a passion for learning about WWII and have become an avid reader of WWII accounts in an attempt to understand what made ordinary men do extraordinary things. I'm also an avid sports fan, but would rather do than watch. I've played several sports competitively, such as varsity soccer and cross-country, but since high school I have picked up tennis, golf, pickleball, and even ice-hockey (taking an ice-hockey class 3 times while at BYU!) Since I lived in Finland for two years, I also learned to speak Finnish - a truly humbling experience to say the least, but after returning to the states 10+ years ago, I still study and practice Finnish on a daily basis. My goal is to never stop learning and so far, I think I'm achieving that goal!Skills: Matlab, C++, CAD, Mathematics, Organizational Behavior, research, building trust, Excel, Finnish language, Sports, Writing, Presentations, and not taking life too seriously!