I've been playing and writing music for as long as I can remember. I learned piano in a very musical household and, for a brief time later on, with the guidance of Simon Docking. Although I'm largely self-taught, I've received invaluable advice over the years from established composers.

My music has won several provincial and national awards. Among these, I'm a four-time winner of the CFMTA National Student Composer Competition, and a recipient of the CFMTA Helen Dahlstrom Award for best composition in any category.

Along with classical music, I've recently been experimenting with electronic music and jazz improv. For three years, I busked regularly in various places, most recently the Seaport Farmers' Market, where I occasionally also accompanied my sister Maddie, a very talented singer.

At a computer science summer camp in 2007, I learned to use GameMaker to create simple video games. I continued to pursue this as a hobby, and thereby teach myself game design and programming for the next few years. I created three large-scale games in GameMaker 8, with homemade graphics and original soundtracks made with GarageBand.

In high school, I branched out from game design towards programming and computer science more generally in high school, beginning when I took my first programming class in 12th grade. I chose computer science as my major in university, and through the co-op program I worked as a mobile developer at Sidestory, and a web developer at SimplyCast.

For several months I was part of an environmental-labour movement called Earth Strike, helping to organize what became the biggest global climate rally in history. During the early stages of organizing, I was a core contributor to web development, writing, and graphics, as well as designing our global structure and leading the initial on-the-ground work in Halifax.

In that time and since, I've participated in a few other political organizations at various scales, notably a local group called Food Against Fascism, helping with free weekly food gatherings and joining in anti-fascist action around the city.

I graduated Citadel High School in 2015, having won the Top Academic Average award in grades 10 and 11, and the Seymour Schulich Scholarship for Academic Excellence in grade 12. I studied computer science for four years at Dalhousie University, where I was a two-time Rossetti Scholar and three-time Sexton Scholar.

In fourth grade, I was the NSSCA Provincial Chess Champion, and represented Nova Scotia on the national stage. In high school and university, I was the president of the chess club, where I organized meetings and tournaments, handled publicity and social media, and coached students of all skill levels.

I've participated in various math competitions over the years. Among these, I placed first school-wide in the University of Waterloo competitions in grades 9 and 10, and won First Prize and the Diamond Award at the 2011 Nova Scotia Math Olympiad.