About Me

I was born in Boston, MA on a warm summer day in 1982. For much of my younger years my brother Michael and I moved between several parts of the Northeast and Ohio before my parents decided to settle back in Massachusetts in the late 80s. Growing up in Central Mass was a ideal place for a young boy. Many a day and night was spent building tree houses, riding mountain bikes through the woods, fishing, and play kick-the-can.

My love of the outdoors drew me to the Boy Scouts where I attained the rank of Eagle Scout. Despite some of the more recent negativity associated with Scouting, I found that it prepared me to handle any possible situation in my life. To the Scouts credit, the knowledge I learned there has awarded me some nicknames like McGyver and Dad. You’d be surprised how many times you’re tailgating and need someone who can start a good fire.

At age 16 I made my first extended trip away from my family and west of the Mississippi River. My friends and I from Scouts traveled across the country hitting some of the sites. The Grand Tetons, The Corn Palace, Gettysburg, but the ultimate goal was 16 days of camping and hiking in the New Mexico mountains. We were completely cut off from civilization and the experience is burned into my memory. I can still remember sitting on the Tooth of Time watching the sunrise and someone saying “Look, you can see Kansas.” It was there that I realized the world was much larger than just me.

I attended Bartlett High School where I was a National Honor Society Member, played in almost every band, sung in almost every choir and was even on the Math Team! That’s right I was a Mathlete! Combine that with my love for technology and I was building a quality nerd resume, hahah!! In 2000, I graduated in the top of my class and soon moved onto Providence College.

The very first time I stepped onto the campus of Providence College, I knew this place was home. I can remember getting out of the car for a tour and immediately saying to my parents, “let’s go to the bookstore I am getting a sweatshirt!” In the next four years, I would meet some of my closest friends and together we found unique and inventive ways of getting ourselves in and out of trouble. Luckily enough for us, we went to college in the pre-Facebook world and none of our ridiculousness ended up being stored forever on a server somewhere in Northern California.

Upon graduation I began working for the family business, Rekola Engineers and Surveyors. We specialized in land surveying and site development for residential properties. It was the boom-times for the housing bubble and we quickly expanded to a new office, modern equipment and more staff. I learned a lot from working with my parents, most especially how to manage ever aspect of a business. Everyone knows when you own a SB you can wear a lot of hats. The lessons I learned here would be integral in my future business endeavors.

In 2008 my parents and brother moved out to California, while I stayed to attend to the family business. The economy was getting worse by the day and our 17 year old business slowly succumb to the shrinking housing market. In March of 2009, I decided to finally join my family. Michael returned to help me pack and we embarked on a cross-country road trip that was greatest journey of my life!! I will soon create an entire page devoted to the hundreds of pictures that we took.

Our route took us down the Eastern seaboard, along the Florida pan-handle, up through the heartland to Oklahoma, across the Rockies to Las Vegas, finally stopping in Southern California.

Stayed tuned for a new page on the Roadtrip.