Basketball opened doors for me. People made the journey meaningful.

I grew up loving the game, and it took me further than I ever imagined. At the University of Arizona, I learned what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself as a member of the 1996–97 Arizona Wildcats. With the Harlem Globetrotters, I traveled to more than 30 countries between 2003 and 2009 and saw how one game can bring joy to people everywhere. Along the way, I was chosen to visit schools and talk with students about character

After basketball, I found new courts to serve on.

I’ve worked as a juvenile detention officer for Pima County, as a substitute teacher at Sunnyside and Desert View High Schools in the Sunnyside School District, and for about nine years as a police officer with Pima Community College. The classroom and the community taught me the same thing the game did: people respond to fairness, consistency, and someone who genuinely cares.

Today I also wear stripes.

As a referee, I’m the person who makes the calls, enforces the rules, and sometimes hears about it from the crowd. That role, like the others, taught me more about respect, composure, and fairness than any title ever could.

Now I share those lessons with students, teams, and communities, because one life is all we get, and I want to help people live it well.