I’ve learned that being there for people can take a thousand forms. Sometimes it’s coaching my students through a tough lesson, or cutting hair in the campus barbershop so someone feels a little more like themselves. Other times it’s rowing before sunrise with teammates who trust me to pull my weight, or designing
 

biodegradable fishing line because I can’t stand seeing plastic tangled in a riverbank. Working on food waste projects taught me that care can start small — one meal, one compost bucket, one conversation. Teaching taught me patience; barbering taught me listening; rowing taught me persistence. And being a brother taught me that showing up, even when it’s inconvenient, is the most important thing of all.

 

Whatever I build — whether it’s a sustainability project, a new tool, or just a better way to help — always comes back to that same idea: being there, paying attention, and trying to make things a little better than I found them.