My involvement in warbirds started very early on in my aviation journey. Growing up I would go to Planes of Fame in Chino and look at their amazing collection, but never thought I would wind up so involved in this part of the industry. I started A&P school at Chaffey College in September of 2017 right after I graduated High School. Shortly thereafter family and friends began to talk about my interest in aviation until in October I was referred to a small shop by a friend, not knowing anything about it. I called Matt Nightingale and was invited down to chino that day. This would launch my career and solidify my passion for working on warbirds. I was hooked, just like that. As my skills grew in sheet metal and riveting I learned from the ground up how to build aircraft from raw materials. We had a couple P-40 projects going on then. Then as time went on Matt introduced me to more and more of our industry leaders and gave me more opportunities to grow myself. 2 years later I finished A&P school and went to work on Citations and Hawkers but a part of me always wanted to go back to warbirds. Two years of corporate and I was ready for a change again. Matt graciously accepted me back to AeroSport in chino where I’ve been able to grow even more in the years since. This led to working with Paul and his amazing team at Aerometal International. Id like to thank fellow 20U40 Nick Kanakis for all he has taught me be it DC-3s or my other new interest, the Vultee BT-13. I would also like to thank another fellow 20U40, Tucker Yamada for teaching me about the B-25. I am so grateful for everyone who has taken the time to grow me into the mechanic I am today. There are so many people I would like to thank, most notably, the Nightingale family, Aero Trader, Aero Metal, Planes of Fame, and many others. Thank you all for giving me the opportunity to learn and keep the history alive. I am honored to be recognized by 20U40 and can’t wait to meet more of you and keep learning about these machines we all love so much. Our mission is important to remembering those that came before us and to teach the next generation about those that came before us. See you all at Oshkosh.