I am an education and courts news reporter for the Merced Sun-Star in Merced County, California. I also report on breaking news and have worked on longer, investigatory projects.

I grew up in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. There, I developed an interest in math, science and writing. I never thought I would be a journalist.

I first went to college for engineering. But after realizing that I didn't enjoy it, and wouldn't want a career out of it, I decided to backtrack and took a year off. During that year, I enrolled in community college, joining the student newspaper just because it was new and interesting.

From there, I found out I was not only good at finding information and reporting it, I loved the job. I also developed a passion and became a devotee to the First Amendment, after the school administration "reassigned" our faculty adviser after several damaging stories about administration came out.

I continued education at the University of Kansas' journalism school, working up to become the editor of the student newspaper there. Months after graduating in 2013, I went back to Illinois to intern for the Peoria Journal Star. Three months later, I became the full-time reporter at the Joliet Herald-News in Joliet, Illinois.

After a little more than two years, my now-wife and I moved to Merced County as I took a job reporting on Los Banos, a small city with big news. I've since moved to covering news in the rest of the county and am committed to building a life and career in California.

I am married to (most definitely) my better half, my wife Lora. And together we have two naughty bunnies we look after. We enjoy going to amusement parks, trips to Chicago to see family and friends, and we recently embarked on a weight loss and improved health journey through the "Keto" diet. (Although, I can still cook a mean pasta dish.)

On the side, I enjoy playing sports video games and the violin, especially bluegrass/fiddle. I also am on-and-off working on my podcast that focuses on news for Indian-origin Americans.