Story
The longer story
A little more info on me and my background.
Life Story
Middleton, Wisconsin
Middleton is about 20 minutes from Madison, the capital of Wisconsin. It’s a largely suburban community with great schools, which is why my mom wanted to raise my brother and me here.
Middleton High School
I participated in just about as many clubs as possible. I mainly spent my time on business-competition clubs like FBLA and DECA, but also played JV soccer and tennis (2x most improved player!), and worked some weekdays and weekends at a retirement home, then Target and a local diner.
Rejected, then appealed
I initially got rejected from UW–Madison, but sent an appeal and got in!
First trips abroad
I signed up for an AP Human Geography trip to Southeast Asia after some encouragement from a friend, and worked at Target to make the $800+ monthly payments during my junior year of high school. It ended up being worth every penny.
Found AI safety
At an Effective Altruism retreat, which I was also somewhat new to, AI safety was emphasized by nearly every person as a top priority for making a positive impact in the world right now. Since then, I’ve been shifting the focus of nearly all my life decisions to work on this issue.
Canvassed in NYC
Volunteering for Bores, canvassing 10+ hours a day and meeting incredible people in the process.
Back to school, then graduating
I’m currently planning on going back to school this fall, and thinking I’ll graduate after this year. I’ll be putting a lot of effort into my school’s EA and AI safety clubs!
Career Journey
EA Midwest Retreat
Connected with people working in AI safety and fieldbuilding. Applied to the Generator Residency, EAG London, and EAG NYC.
Second EA Fellowship · UW–Madison
AI safety, longtermism, biosecurity, existential risk, global priorities. Helped facilitate discussions and simultaneously deepened my knowledge in these areas.
First EA Fellowship · UW–Madison
Introduction to effective altruism, cause prioritization, and the core ideas that reshaped how I think about doing good.
Reading: The Alignment Problem, The Precipice, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, etc.
Trying to actually understand AI risk instead of just deferring.
Some photos
