Hometown: New York, NY
Major/Minor: Philosophy & Psychology
Single or taken: Single
‘DeisLife…
What activities are you involved in at Brandeis outside of academics?
I enjoy playing intramural sports to satisfy my craving for competitive activities. (Although I try not to take it too seriously.) Aside from that, I enjoy hanging out with friends and getting into ridiculous debates, reading, writing (sports or comedy), watching a few of my favorite television shows (I’m a huge TV fan) and a few of the other activities typical of many college students.
Which campus-wide event do you look forward to each year?
Pachanga. Probably the most collective fun I’ve seen at Brandeis. (Obviously, it doesn’t hurt that there’s no shortage of drinking.) It’s rare to see that much chaos at a Brandeis event; so when ridiculous stuff starts going down, you kind of have to savor it.
What is your favorite class you ever took at Brandeis?
It’s tough to narrow it down, but I guess I would have to say: “Sociology of Empowerment” with Gordie Fellman. It was an ‘experiential learning’ course with a tight-knit group of 12 students. I don’t think I’ve ever explored myself as much as I did in that class.
In the Future…
What do you think you’ll miss the most about Brandeis after graduation?
Probably the openness (and uniqueness) of the students. I find that at Brandeis, if you’re friendly, you can have an interesting conversation with just about anyone. Many people appear guarded, but if you display genuine interest, they’ll open up and a friendship will develop. I know Brandeis is generally dubbed as a very “weird” school, but a great deal of the ‘weirdness’ amongst the student body is redeeming. Despite growing up in one of the most diverse cities in the world, I don’t think I’ll ever experience a community as multi-faceted as Brandeis again.
What is your dream job? How do you plan to achieve it?
I can’t say that I really have a dream job at this point. I’ve always said that the ideal life would be moving to either Hawaii or Australia and bartending for as long as I could, but I don’t know if that would give my life enough ‘purpose’ (we’re getting into the heavy stuff now). Ideally, I’ll have an epiphany while in law school and form a general picture of my dream job.
In terms of “achieving it,” I don’t know. I guess I just have to push myself – warning: cliché incoming – to be the best person I can be. For a while, I’ve believed that the best thing I can do in life is maximizing my happiness and the happiness of those around me. I know it’s an overused line, but: I want to leave the world a better place than I came into it. I just don’t know how I’m going to go about doing that at this point.
Dating…
Personality attributes you look for in a significant other:
I’m a huge fan of confidence. That’s probably near the top of the list in terms of my biggest turn-on’s. I also really like when a girl is quick on her feet. I’m a huge fan of banter; so I’m always looking to find someone who can routinely put me in my place with a sharp and proactive sense of humor. Another attribute that I find extremely attractive is adventurousness. I’m a huge fan of trying new things and taking in everything life has to offer – I want to be with someone who isn’t afraid to step outside of their comfort zone and have a new experience. So to sum it up: intelligence, a good sense of humor, confidence, passion (for something) and openness to new things.
Physical attributes you look for in a significant other:
The first thing I always look at are the eyes. I’ve found that eyes are often very telling of a girl’s personality. You spend the most time looking at your significant other’s eyes – you want eyes that you’ll enjoy looking into. The smile is also important. Finding a girl with a smile that puts you in a good mood but also displays that she’s a bit mischievous is hard to beat. Another thing I look for goes back to my attraction to confidence: I find it extremely appealing when a girl is sure enough with herself that she exudes confidence just in the way she moves. It always gets me. Aside from that, I go for height. I find it very attractive when a girl is close to my eye level. (I think it’s a little awkward to be looking down so often.) Because I’m 6’2”, I like for a girl to be at least 5’7” and ideally somewhere between 5’9” and 6’0”.
Where would you go on a date to impress someone?
I’m not a huge believer in bringing a girl on a date to a specific place to impress her. I like to bring girls different places based on their interests. I also like to believe that I’m the one that’s supposed to be doing the impressing – I don’t want a girl to find me more attractive because I take her somewhere. I want someone who will enjoy spending time with me while experiencing something fun and fresh and find the thought behind the activity impressive. I take a good deal of pride in designing interesting and quirky dates that offer a variety of activities and experiences.
What is your number one turn off?
I can’t narrow this down to one so I’ll give a few: Bad teeth, a bad sense of humor and a bad laugh. As I said earlier, the smile is very important for me – if a girl doesn’t look like she takes care of her teeth, it signals that she may not take care of herself in other ways. The bad sense of humor and the bad laugh kind of go hand-in-hand. I think laughter is one of the greatest pleasures in life; as a result, I look for someone that can make me laugh. If a girl takes life too seriously to make of herself, it’s a turn off. I’d like to think that I’m funny (just play along); I find that I’m pretty good at making people laugh – I take a lot of pleasure in it – if I can’t stand hearing a girl laugh, I’m not gonna want to make her do it.
Valentines’ Day…
What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?
I think I have an idea for an enjoyable outing with someone, but I haven’t put the finishing touches on it. It’ll be tough because I have a lot of work due late in the week — including a pretty difficult test the day after Valentine’s day — but I hope to have a little free time to celebrate the holiday.
What do you think of the holiday in general?
I go back and forth on this. Sometimes, I think it’s a stupid holiday that’s just an excuse to buy something for your significant other or to potentially make a move on a potential admirer. And then another part of me thinks that it’s cute to get couples to think of unique ways to express their admiration for each other. As a whole, I think we should always be willing to express the way we feel to a potential partner but sometimes we need a little extra push and Valentine’s Day seems to (sometimes) accomplish that.
Do you have a valentine?
Technically, no.
Fast Facts…
What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?
That’s hard; I have quite a few. Some of them are pretty long stories so I’ll share a short one. One time I was riding the subway (in NYC) home from work, I had played basketball earlier in the day so I had my gym bag with me. I put the bag down on the floor of the subway car while I was talking to someone. In the midst of our conversation, the bag slides from between my legs towards the middle of the car. The train stops, an old woman gingerly gets out of her seat and rushes to get off the subway realizing that she’s about to miss her stop, and proceeds to trip over my bag. The combination of emotions in that split-second after I realized what caused the woman to fall is something I don’t think I’ll ever experience again. (Luckily, the woman wasn’t hurt – although she did miss her stop.)
What is something that most people might now know about you? Any weird talents?
Something I don’t like telling a lot of people is that I had a short stint doing stand-up comedy. I feel like it raises the bar for humor and makes it a lot harder for me to impress someone with a joke. I am also a certified masseuse. To be fair, that sounds a lot more impressive than it really is – I just took a short course on the best techniques for giving massages.
Pet peeves?
I have a lot, but I’ll spare us all from my complaining. Here are a few: People who take themselves too seriously, people who aren’t willing to take risks (the proverbial YOLO) and obliviousness.
Choose three people, dead or alive, fictional or real, to invite to dinner.
Martin Luther King Jr., George Carlin and Olivia Wilde.
What songs do you like to sing in the shower?
I like this question. It’s varied throughout my life: I used to be a big Ne-Yo guy (“So Sick,” “Sexy Love,” “All Because of You” to name a few). I think “Slow Down” by Bobby Valentino is a good one. There were some Usher songs back in the day that I would sing in the shower. Right now, it’s a lot of Frank Ocean and The Weeknd.
Favorites…
Book(s): Game of Thrones, War and Peace, In Search of Lost Time, In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks
Movie(s): Pulp Fiction, Annie Hall, Goodfellas, American History X, Crash
TV Show(s): The Wire, Breaking Bad, The Shield, South Park
Food: Arthur Avenue Pizza
Sports team: Yankees, Nets, Jets
Place to eat on campus: Can I cheat and say the Faculty Lounge? If not, probably The Stein.
Place to travel: Australia
Would you rather…
Spend a day with Beyonce or Kim Kardashian? To be honest, neither really interests me too much. I’ll say Beyonce because I don’t think I could last more than five minutes with Kim.
Be a pirate or a ninja? Easily, a pirate. They pretty much do whatever they want.
Have a sloth or a koala as a pet? Have to go koala. They know how to get down.