Back
My journey towards becoming a retirement planning specialist is a bit different from most. While I have always had a passion for numbers, my interests leaned toward understanding people very early on: thinking about our actions, emotions, and the “why” that drives us all to the decisions we make. This desire for understanding led me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Virginia Tech, and later, a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Radford University.
When I began my career in the wealth management field, I quickly saw that there was often something missing. While observing advisors and interactions with their clients, I noticed that there was too much focus on “the numbers”. While this is a crucial aspect of what we do, I envisioned a need to spend more time on the person behind those numbers. Understanding the vision you have for your retirement goals: who you are with, your passions, and your preferences on how to spend your most valuable resource: time.
As I reflect on who it is that I serve, I often think about my own parents. My father, a coal miner, and my mother, a teacher in special education, dedicated their lives to persistence, good family values, and working hard to provide the best life possible for themselves and those closest to them. I see these same traits present in the people I choose to partner with to help secure their financial future. Whether they are a teacher, a nurse, an engineer, a small business owner, among many others, they have all worked extremely hard to overcome the odds and place themselves and their family in the best position to succeed as is possible.
I see consistent themes present in the financial planning I help to build alongside my clients. A central question most of us have is this: “How do I make it the next 20-30 years through my Golden Years, without a paycheck, and not run out of money or income in the process?” However, my clients’ vision for their retirement runs much deeper than that. Living a life of abundance and maximizing the resources we have becomes paramount. To do this, we begin to outline a holistic approach to your vision: Achieving the growth we need, seeking to minimize pitfalls such as market risk and potential losses, understanding how taxation will impact the current and future landscape, and creating a lasting legacy that impacts your family tree.
As I envision the path of my career moving forward, my goal is to continue building lasting, impactful relationships with my clients and community. I strive to provide sound education, insight, and guidance to the people who instill their trust in me, so that they can move forward in confidence for their financial future. I have been fortunate to become a mentor to advisors around me, as I look to guide them toward providing excellent principles and confidence within their own client relationships.
On a personal note, my path is also evolving. As a new father, I hope to instill the same important values in my son Everett as he grows, as those my parents taught me as a kid. Priscilla and I look forward to building our family alongside him and sharing in these precious first moments of his life. Of course, our family wouldn’t be complete without my other two children, my toy schnauzers, Penny and Luna. We enjoy making time in the sun by the pool or on a beach, soaking in new experiences and traveling to new cities, and cheering on my Hokies while dressed in maroon and orange for those lovely fall football Saturdays.
