About Me

Background

I was born in 1986 and grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania before moving to the Allentown area ten years later. While attending Parkland High School, I made life-long friends and enjoyed playing lacrosse. After graduating high school, I attended the Pennsylvania State University where I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography and minors in Geographic Information Sciences and Sociology. Immediately following Penn State, I moved on to a graduate school education in City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. Currently, I am living in Ithaca with my wife Victoria Schwanda Sosik, my cats Nittany and Benji, and my turtle Soup.

Plans

My current goal is to get a job where I can help develop city and regional plans to make these places better environments for people to live. Ever since my freshman year at Penn State, I knew I wanted to be involved in city planning. The revitalization activities taking place in rust belt cities across the Northeast fascinated me and led me to discover the field of planning. Through my work, I hope to make a difference in struggling communities and make cities more livable places.

Hobbies

I have several hobbies that I pursue in my free time. I enjoy watching and playing sports, especially college football (Go Nittany Lions!). I also enjoy fishing with friends and taking photographs of cityscapes. For my 24th birthday I was given a homebrew kit and my newest hobby is brewing my own beer. The first batch I brewed was a red ale and I continue to try new recipes.