Here is my life story, it is going to be weighted towards the present because
that is most fresh in my mind. (NOTE: last names removed 04/24/08)
I was born on a snowy winter afternoon in February 1978 at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan, just southwest of downtown Detroit. The happy parents that Tuesday, which coincided with the middle of the "Great Blizzard of '78", were Kevin and Sue France, originally of Akron, Ohio. I spent the first 4 years of my life in Dearborn in a cute little house that I do not remember.
In the fall of 1982, my family moved to Charleston, West Virginia, when my Dad was offered a better job there. The following year, I began Kindergarten at Holz Elementary School. T-Ball, soccer, and various swim teams were my dominant pastimes. On January 29th, 1985, my sister Brittney was born and my brother Patrick followed on February 1st, 1988.
1990 brought my graduation from Holz and I parted ways with the West Virginia public school system. Starting in 7th grade, I attended Charleston Catholic High School for the next 6 years. In junior high, I spent most of my time in the assistant principal's office on the verge of expulsion. When I was not hanging out there, I was most likely doing something with my best junior high friends Chris S. and Joe T.
I started "real" high school in 1993 after taking a year off to recover from burns suffered when I set myself ablaze in April of 1992 in protest of the Rodney King decision. High school brought the start of my long standing friendship/romance with Emily C. We dated throughout most of high school and a sizeable fraction of college, and are still good friends today. In February of 1994, I began playing drums with Airport Road, a band that performed until the fall of 1996. In addition to myself, Airport Road was made up of Sebastian A. on bass, Christian R. on rhythm guitar, and Mike T. on lead guitar. In addition to all those mentioned above, there were other key partners in crime, most notably Mike McM. and Bryan B.. In high school, I became more voluntarily involved in community service and tutoring. I played on two indoor soccer teams, the Charleston Locusts and the Charleston Tang. Starting in the fall of 1994, I helped found and coached the Kanawha City Cruisers, a local soccer team in the "Under-8" league. I usually spent my summers working as a courier and inventory clerk for my Dad, and also held jobs as a retail clerk and a pizza delivery guy. In June of 1996, I graduated from CCHS with the Scholars Diploma.
In the fall of 1996, I left home to attend Boston University. I initially lived in Warren Towers where I had the enormous luck of rooming with Ryan C. of New Bedford, Massachusetts, whom I would eventually live with all four years of college. In addition to Ryan, the "Dean's Floor"(ha!), of Warren Towers (13A) gave me the opportunity to meet other people with whom I am still close friends with today. Our next-door neighbors Greg F. and Paul D., Gabe B. at the end of the hall, Douglass W. Miller in Kenmore Square, and Jill G. and Jessica C. on the girls side the hall. Sophomore year brought a move to the 17th floor, but the cast of characters was mainly the same. In addition to the already mentioned group, I became better friends with John H., Justin E., and Elaine C. through class this year. These people formed the core group for MANY adventures both in Boston and on our innumerable trips and Spring Break odesseys. Junior year saw five of us leave University housing for the 3rd floor of 49 St. Mary's St. in Brookline, where I lived for the rest of my time in Beantown.
Starting at the beginning of the second semester of my sophomore year, I began working for the Ultraviolet Research Group in BU's Center for Space Physics. I was hired to to look after lab chores and move boxes around, but eventually got involved with the TERRIERS Mission, under the supervision of Professor's Tim C. and Dan C., and in addition to my normal duties, I helped build equipment for spacecraft testing and was responsible for upkeep and testing of the ground station, which was located on campus. The summer before my senior year, I began working on my "Work for Distinction" (ie-Senior Thesis), Development of the Absorption Capabilities of a Self-Compensating All-Reflection Interferometer with Professor's Cook and Supriya C. as my advisors. In May 2000, I graduated with a BA in Astronomy and Physics, magna cum laude with Distinction, and winning the College Prize in Astronomy.
So, there it is: my first 22 years in eight paragraphs and eight pictures.
