I was born in Las Vegas but moved around a lot as a kid. We came to Utah when I was 8 years old and found a home in Draper. Around that time, my dad came home from work one day and said that he saw this poster for wrestling, and he asked, “Hey, you wanna wrestle?” I thought that meant World Wrestling Entertainment. I thought I was going to learn how to break two-by-fours over people’s heads, hit people with steel chairs, and other important life knowledge. I figured I better learn and said, “Yeah, let’s do it.” 

Wrestling turned out to be different than I thought it was going to be — obviously — but it was a great experience. In addition to wrestling, I played basketball, soccer, and football. I also enjoyed the outdoors of Utah and felt like I grew up in a good place with good people.  

I started to specialize in wrestling as I got older because, phenotypically, I’m a small individual, only 5’4.” Basketball and football started to fade for me as options since I just wasn’t as big or tall. I’m competitive — and wrestling operates on a weight class system, so I found that was something I could do at a higher level than other sports because my opponents had to weigh the same as me. 

Not many people know that wrestling involves getting the body to be composed and shaped a certain way to compete at the highest level. It’s not only about who knows the most wrestling moves but also who knows all the strategies — who’s the strongest and who can maximize their potential with their body composition. 

I also love how wrestling is individual in nature. There is still a small team environment where you train with about 30 guys and build tremendously close relationships. So, while the team aspect is incredibly important, when you go out to compete, it’s just you. You’re alone, and all the weight of the moment falls on just you. Wearing only a singlet, with all eyes on you, you feel vulnerable and naked. There’s nowhere to hide — it’s just you and your skills. I enjoy that. Sometimes it goes well for you and sometimes it doesn’t, but I loved learning how to be comfortable in vulnerable moments and how to develop the individual competence required to succeed. 

I had success wrestling in high school, and I was recruited to wrestle at several different colleges. Originally, I signed on to go to Boise State University since my club coaches were Boise State alumni, and I had relationships up there. While I was serving a two-year LDS mission, I was contacted by coaches from Utah Valley University (UVU), whom I had spoken to before. I developed a great relationship with them. Long story short, I was dating this girl I really liked, and I missed my family and realized how much I liked Utah. UVU offered me a scholarship equivalent to what I was going to receive at Boise, and so I ended up at UVU, and I’m grateful I did. 

Utah has a good community of wrestling fans. We’re the only school that has wrestling, so there’s huge support that ranges from the community to students and faculty. Sometimes my professors would show up to matches. President Astrid S. Tuminez stays incredibly involved with the program too, and I see her at events. She’s there virtually every time, which helps us feel really supported, and I was grateful that there was a support network in athletics as well as academics. People wanted me to succeed, and I felt that from day one until the last day. 

My time at UVU was a great experience. I saved money attending there, and I appreciated the camaraderie of the class and the group. The people who are there want to be there. There’s a purpose to their attendance, so I felt like I had this bond with my classmates. What’s more, there was never this competitive, cutthroat vibe. I was in the pre-med world, which is renowned nationally for being a cutthroat, backbiting environment where if my classmate succeeds, that hurts my prospects. I never experienced that at UVU — not from my classmates and not from the professors, which I appreciated. The faculty would support you and get you where you wanted to go if you were willing to do your part. They had relationships with outside private companies and other institutions that could give me research or other leadership opportunities. I had access to everything I needed. 

I’m now married with two kids and studying at the University of Utah School of Medicine. I’m a first-year medical student, so I have four more years of medical school, and then the plan right now is to train in neurosurgery. I’ve always felt compelled to do surgery since that’s what interests me intellectually, and I was grateful for surgeons who helped me overcome numerous injuries sustained in athletics. I still might change my mind, but for now, that’s what I’m aligning myself toward. Then it will be a seven-year residency and likely a one-year fellowship. 

In some ways, I treat medical school like I approached wrestling. It’s this daily grind where you can’t get behind, or you’ll flounder. I still wake up early like I did with wrestling, and I have study periods that feel very similar to wrestling practices. It’s fun to translate the skills I gained from engaging in physical, strenuous practices to this equally draining intellectual arena.  

There is a well-known motto in the wrestling world that I love: “Embrace the grind.” I feel like that’s something UVU instilled in me — to embrace the grind of life and to keep moving forward despite adversity. I’m applying that same ideology in my studies, and it’s serving me well. If I could go back, I would not change my experiences. UVU got me exactly what I needed, and it developed me as a person in a way that I wouldn’t trade for any other opportunity. I’m proud to have been a Wolverine.