1.
A trip abroad for a cause.
During his sophomore year in college at Northeastern University in Boston, Chris discovered his passion for special education by working in an orphanage for children with disabilities while on a service trip to Haiti.
2.
He is an experienced marathon runner.
Chris has run the Boston Marathon twice and the Los Angeles Marathon once - each on a record hot day of over 90 degrees.
3.
He has Portuguese roots.
Chris is first generation American. Both of his parents emigrated from San Miguel, Azores, Portugal as children. He also speaks Portuguese.
4.
An adventurous fervor for the outdoors!
Chris is an avid backpacker. Some of his most recent trips include: Mount San Jacinto, California; Zion National Park, Utah (East Rim, Angel’s Landing, and Narrows); Acadia National Park, Maine; and Mount Washington, New Hampshire.
5.
Animal business
As an undergrad, Chris did a year-long internship at the Franklin Park Zoo studying animal behavior. His participants included an ocelot, a pair of warthogs and a family of Indian pygmy geese.
6.
He has a passion for persons with disabilities.
Chris took a semester off in college to volunteer in Appalachia (Central KY) at a respite center for adults and children with disabilities.
7.
San Diego Bay sailing.
During the summer of 2016, while finishing his dissertation, Chris also learned to sail in San Diego Bay.
How Chris is making a difference in the College of Education:
“I love working at SDSU and feel honored for having the opportunity to enable new teachers to learn the skills they need to be successful leaders in the classroom. My hope is to continue advocating for all our future educators, with a focus on increasing awareness of the specific challenges faced by students with disabilities and within the LGBTQ+ communities.”
