A native of Indianapolis, Rick graduated from Beech Grove High School in 1987 and continued his education at Ball State University. There, he earned a bachelor of science degree in telecommunications, along with a minor in geography. During the summer of 1991, Rick completed an internship with Caboose Productions in Indianapolis, where he became a full-time staff engineer upon graduation from Ball State. During his ten-year tenure at Caboose, Rick engineered hundreds of award-winning audio projects and eventually became responsible for computer development and maintenance.In 2002, Rick, left his position at Caboose to launch Earshot Audiopost with business partner, Brice Bowman.In addition to his engineering and ownership roles at Earshot, Rick has served as president of the Ball State Telecommunications Alumni Board, and has been an active member of Native View Pictures, a production conglomerate that focused on the creation and production of fascinating documentaries. Rick is also the creator and co-host of Inside MusiCast, an audio podcast program heard worldwide and features interviews with the best musicians in the music industry. In 2009, Rick was recognized by the Ball State Telecommunications Department with the Distinguished Alumni Of The Year Award, which he shares with past Ball State telecommunications alumni, including David Letterman. In 2017, Rick also received a distinguished alumni recognition from Beech Grove High School.