I invite you to step inside my shoes and join my journey from Salcedo to New York City, boxing rings to lecture halls, passionate scholar and educator to ed-tech co-founder, and beyond...

Washington Heights

I'm from Salcedo in the Dominican Republic. At six years old, life took an unexpected turn and sent me on an exciting adventure across the Atlantic, landing ultimately in the infamous neighborhood of Washington Heights in NYC.

My journey through public school was filled with surprises and challenges, including periods of homelessness, gang activity, hunger...

Through hard work and passion, I graduated high school with a regents diploma, perhaps an accomplishment for a statistically condemned youth! My skill set consisted of both numbers and art, an untraditional combination.

Round One of Boxing Training

At eleven, I entered the ring at the legendary Times Square Gym under its trainer, Emile Griffith. Learning from Emile and other legends such as Floyd Patterson and Saoul Mamby taught me more than how to throw punches. They also taught me essential life lessons such as honesty, integrity, hard work, and perseverance… These lessons remain valuable in my life to this day.

My boxing years were glorious! I often noted, "Boxing kept me on my toes and focused. Aiming for success in the ring meant hard work, sweat, and perseverance." Boxing kept me out of trouble—saved my life.

Boxing Gloves or College Books?

After eight hard-fought years in amateur boxing, with an official record of 19-1 (and 27-2 in exhibition tournaments), I made a tough choice: switching gloves for college textbooks and the ring for lecture halls.

Deciding between my passion and ability for boxing and thirst for knowledge felt like a fight, I remember. But it was time for new challenges!

A Scholar's Journey

Many years after, too many, now at Texas A&M University, I am an ABD doctoral candidate and former instructor researching conflict theory within border disputes in Latin America. Before, I earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Columbia University, studying under the mentorship of Dr. David Sidorsky—one of the kindest men I have ever met. I researched Immanuel Kant's ethics. Then came a Master's degree with distinction in Political Science from Villanova, where I investigated issues of underdevelopment in Latin America.

Today, my primary interests lie in exploring underdevelopment in Latin America, education technology, and identity.

My Tech Side

But there's more to me than punches and academia! I am also an avid tech enthusiast and dabble in graphic design, illustration, programming, and AI/ML technologies, especially their potential to help address "education" and "underdevelopment."

I am a near expert in programming languages (Python and HTML are among my specialties!) and data visualization tools like Tableau. My technology passion lies with the philosophical foundations of machine learning…

Well, that's me—a former boxer, now a scholar and tech enthusiast.

Above all else, however, I am a husband and father; most of the time, an ambitious dreamer with an insatiable thirst to make an impactful difference in this world.