Let me start by saying that I am originally from New Buffalo, Michigan. New Buffalo is located in the very Southwest corner of the state, nestled along the pristine shoreline of Lake Michigan. Having such an enormous body of freshwater in my backyard growing up mean that I spent a lot of time around the lake doing all kinds of activities. My favorite of which included fishing, swimming, skim boarding, paddle boarding, tubing, and sometimes I even jet ski riding. The older I got, the more I was able to appreciate the sheer power and beauty that Lake Michigan truly possesses. The lake has always been my favorite part about New Buffalo, however, it was one of the only things I liked New Buffalo. I knew that when it was time to head off to college, I would want to get as far away from this town as my parents could stand.
Now let’s fast forward to my senior year of high school, more specifically the last 2 minutes of the last high school football game I would ever play. This was a hard reality to face because everything I had done in my life for the past 5 years was centered around football. A strict, high-protein, low-fat diet; hour and a half workouts, 5 days a week; and absolutely no partying. As crazy as all that sounds, it began to pay off my senior year when I became an all-conference safety and played the best season in my entire life. I felt like I was on top of the world and was by no means ready to stop playing the game. The day after my last game I was already in my coach's office asking him what I needed to do to play college football.
Now that I knew I wanted to play college football, I now had to decide which level I thought would be best for me. Coming from a very small school (60 kids in my graduating class) I knew my chances were slim to none for playing at a Division 1 or even Division 2 school. This led me to begin researching Division 3 football, and all of the Division 3 schools within driving distance of New Buffalo. I must have met with 20 different coaches during this process, but everything changed when I had been introduced to a recruiter from Ohio Northern University. The first time I met him was at a recruiting fair about an hour away from my home town. His energy stood out from every other recruiter at the fair, and it was almost like an ora was hanging over the booth. After talking with the recruiter, he had told me everything I wanted to hear and more. Before walking out of the fair, I was already signed up for an official recruiting visit to ONU. 
When I first arrived in Ada, it was immediately clear that things were much different around here. I had never been surrounded by so much corn in my entire life, and was also bombarded with endless plains and ferocious wind. I quickly began having second thoughts about my future in Ada. Once I arrived on campus, I completely fell in love with the buildings and landscaping of the university. I remember thinking in my head, "This is what a college campus is supposed to look like." By the time my visit had concluded, I was 100 percent decided that this is where I would be going to college.
Three years later I am still enjoying my time here at Ohio Northern. Although football is what originally brought me here, I decided to give that up after my freshman season. Rather than leaving ONU altogether, I decided to stay here and devote my life to my academics. Since leaving the team, my grades have improved drastically and I have been able to build relationships with people that I never would have had the time to get to know while playing football. I do not regret any decision I have ever made pertaining to Ohio Northern University and I truly believe that this was the best place for me to gain my college education.
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