won 1st place in the state of California for a middle school-division essay contest on American patriotism in 6th grade; self-published a poetry book when he was 14 and has been steadily writing ever since; served as the Editor-in-Chief of a high school literary magazine; finished his Master's degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Edinburgh and is now studying for a PhD in Literature at the University of California, San Diego, where he also served as Editor-in-Chief of Alchemy, Journal of Translation for its Summer 2020 issue; technically lives in Los Angeles but misses his family, especially his pet cat, Sofi, when he is away for school; also likes polar bears, elephants, and blue whales.