The Dream That Becomes A Reality

I have always been fascinated with sports. It started at an early age. According to my mother, I was picking up bats and balls by the age of 3 and trying to play with kids who were years older than myself. At the age of 6, my dad took me to my first baseball game in San Francisco. From that moment on, I was sold into having sports being a part of my life in some shape or form.

As I grew older and realized like many others, that playing anything professional was out of the question, I began to discover that writing about it was not.

That discovery came at the age of 13 when I was in junior high and had to write weekly recaps of articles in the sports pages of The Fresno Bee for my physical education class. From that moment, I knew I wanted to be a sports writer. I tried to join the staff of my high school newspaper as a freshman, but the school didn’t allow it. Before I arrived, the class was reserved for juniors and seniors. I ended up being named to the staff of The Heritage as a sophomore.

I graduated Hoover High School in 2004 and continued my journey to become a sports writer at Fresno City College. I held numerous editor positions there, including sports editor and editor-in-chief during my time at The Rampage. I was also a 2006 Journalism Association of Community Colleges award winner for a sports story I wrote.

In 2006, I decided to take a break from school and join the military. I joined the California National Guard. My time in the military took me to Afghanistan in 2009. I deployed with the 670th Military Police Company out of San Diego, and we were assigned to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Bagram is the main air base in the country. Upon my return, I re-enrolled back in school and transferred to Fresno State in fall of 2012.

As I entered my final year of school this past August, I began to prepare for life after graduation and put my resumé together. I never had the intention of leaving school early, so when I was contacted by Publisher Jim Orr for the sports editor opening at The Glasgow Courier, my mindset changed a little. The more I thought of that opportunity, the more I realized this was the job I wanted to start my career.

I was offered the job, and my wife and I ended up moving here just before December. We could not have asked for a better community to live in. Every encounter we have with members of the community when we’re out and about has been pleasant. Being a California native, I didn’t get that much back there. It’s a breath of fresh air.

In my time here, I promise to not only continue the stellar reporting that was done by Levi Burnfin, but I look to leave my own mark on the sports section and make it one of the best weekly sports sections around.