Kurt has done a great job introducing me in a few of the last few blogs, but now he has asked me to take control of the blog for a month and introduce myself “In my own words.” If you have not read the June edition of The Long View, let me catch you up to speed on who I am, where I came from, and what my plans are.
I was born and raised here in Lakeland, FL.
I attended St. Paul Lutheran all the way through 8th grade. After that, I attended George Jenkins High School, and upon graduating in 2016, I attended the University of Central Florida. While in Orlando, I majored in Finance, and got my degree in 2020. And for those wondering, I do have a t-shirt that says “UCF National Champions” on it.
2020 was definitely an interesting time for all of us, but as a new graduate, it was not what I envisioned.
I was already spending most of my time during the pandemic in Lakeland, but after I graduated, I moved back home full-time. Once settled, I got a job with Thrivent Financial, where I was able to get fully licensed in the securities industry. Once licensed, I got a new opportunity with one of the industry’s biggest names, Fidelity Investments, where I spent the last three years before joining the team here at Allen & Company.
In 2021, I guess you could say I met the person who would ultimately be the biggest reason why I was able to join the firm. I was blessed enough to meet my now wife, Kelsey. We have recently celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary and are happier every day! Kelsey actually showed me a video the other day that she sneakily took when Kurt and I were still getting to know each other. We were sitting in the Elmhorst kitchen, talking about our work and what we were doing. It was great to look back at that and see where we are now!
In my free time outside of work, one of my greatest passions is sports.
I grew up playing soccer, and nearly as soon as I stopped playing competitively, I got into coaching. Now, I am a volunteer assistant coach at George Jenkins High School, and I have been doing that since about 2017 when I would typically make the drive back and forth from Orlando a couple of evenings a week during the high school soccer season for games. Outside of soccer, you can typically talk to me about any sport, and I will be able to have a good discussion with you about it. Kelsey will even tell you how excited I have been for the return of the football season!
While I was at UCF, I had figured out I loved helping others, and I also had a passion for Finance, so I knew the general direction of where I wanted to take my career. Combining that with another one of my passions, coaching, just made sense. I am excited to be at Allen & Company with the Elmhorst Group and working with Kurt for many years to come. The opportunities to meet each of you, our client family, as we work together on your financial goals with the long view always leading our planning process.
October 2024
