He is a native of upstate NY. He has always expressed a love for science especially for biology. Pursuing his interests, he studied at State University of NY (SUNY) at New Paltz where he earned his B.S in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. During his undergrad experience he worked in the Developmental Biology Lab; ultimately he would present his research at a national conference at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Institute. Following this he earned his Master’s Degree in the Art of Teaching from Bard College. He returned to his alma mater to teach general biology labs to incoming freshmen as an adjunct professor. He also taught Human Anatomy and Physiology at Poughkeepsie High School in NY.