I am from a big, happy family of six children and was born and raised in Castro Valley, California. Growing up, I enjoyed playing the trumpet, singing in choirs, raising rabbits and running. As a higher myope, getting contact lenses for the first time as a child was a key experience leading to my optometric career. I actually remember seeing a shooting star for the first time and seeing the leaves on trees in the distance. Now that I am an optometrist, I never tire of providing this same experience to others.
After high school, I received a full-tuition scholarship to study music at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Following my freshman year, I served a 2-year mission to Portugal for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I graduated with a B.A. in Music, with an emphasis in vocal performance (yes, I'm a singing optometrist), and married my wonderful German wife, Fran, in 2006. We now have four little girls named Sophia, Alba, Emilia and Minna. Because of my mission and family, I speak French, German, and Portuguese (which I find is very helpful when communicating with Spanish speakers). Due to my experiences, I have a deep appreciation for people of different cultures, languages, and walks of life.
Fran and I love playing board games, reading, gardening, traveling, discussing current events, running and biking. Sophia LOVES reading, swimming, singing and writing music. Alba is conquering her bicycle, loves any music that comes her way and loves wrestling with Papa. Emilia loves her puzzles, swimming and has an intense zeal for life in general. Minna, with her full head of hair, catches all the stares of passerbys and will always give you a smile if she is not sleeping.
Our girls are raised bilingually and we enjoy speaking German in our home. If you listen closely, you may detect a slight German accent. We value family time, community service, life-long learning, good food and laughter and enjoy these as often as life permits.
We are happy here in Burney and are feeling more and more at home everyday.
Our girls are raised bilingually and we enjoy speaking German in our home. If you listen closely, you may detect a slight German accent. We value family time, community service, life-long learning, good food and laughter and enjoy these as often as life permits.
We are happy here in Burney and are feeling more and more at home everyday.