Marco… Polo... Marco… Aaron?

Where did Aaron’s life begin? He did spend four years in Singapore during his mid-childhood, but that was only after Katmandu, Nepal. Swaziland, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Brussels, Belgium and Petoria, South Africa have also been called home to the nomadic family of Aaron.

Born November 2nd, 89’ in Washington D.C., Aaron’s adventurous lifestyle was about to begin. His father, employed by the U.S. State Department, is one of the reasons for their family’s traveling lifestyle. Aaron’s mom nonetheless, works for the American embassy. It is not surprising his family has grown a love for traveling, which is especially appreciative of someone who loves to surf. Moving from America to Africa at two months old, his life has been shaped by living all over Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America. His immediate family also includes two sisters, one of which he is very close with, the other being older and having ‘too obsessive’ of a work ethic. His friends describe him as having a Southern California “So Cal” lifestyle, contradictory to his unusual history of residency.

After his birth in D.C. came Burkina Faso in western Africa for two years, then Swaziland for a four year period. When Aaron was six, his family left Swaziland for Kathmandu, Nepal. Here his father immersed his son into sports, first setting up a basketball rim and backboard on the side of the driveway. Although Aaron does enjoy “sitting around doing nothing” and just chilling on the beach, don’t let his laid back personality deceive you. He has been on multiple travel teams, experiencing challenging lacrosse and basketball competition overseas. Recently at an International school tournament in Tanzania, he received the honor of being named the all-tournament point guard. Not only a basketball and lacrosse athlete, he is an avid fan of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and a surfer at heart. Aaron and his immediate family are not religious; however the persistent and continuous love of sports he possesses is extremely religious. There is no lack of faith in his life, committing a positive attitude towards every community he affects. When asked where he would want to travel, Aaron chose Hawaii and Australia; specifically anywhere that has good surf. Although initially shy about public posture, Aaron would do very well in leadership positions. His father describes his only weakness as not “stepping forth and commanding his strengths” in being a leader, and the fact that he does “only what is required” in his academics. He has a taste for almost any food and sometimes goes as far as watching the food channel due to his passion towards pizza and grilling out on the beach. Despite his relaxed personality, he has only one pet peeve; when people touch him that he does not know (not so much with the ladies, of course). Aaron is far from lazy though, perusing his sports, personal life, and academics with a passion that does not interrupt his laid back and unassuming personality.

Much of Aaron’s individualism is derived from his experience in his traveling sports teams. His drive as a competitive basketball player has created a good sense of a leader that is easily felt soon after meeting Aaron. Not only a patient person when first met, Aaron is not at all judgmental and has a great deal of patience with other people. His father describes him as “easy on the nerves and people therefore are very comfortable with him and his smile and humor.” He easily makes new friends and earns respect with them as a result of his modest personality. Contradictory to his mature personable attitude would only be his intolerance to things he cannot enjoy. His father stated, “He picked up my sincere impatience when shopping with his mother.”

Aaron’s good friend Phil Feldman describes one of his best memories with Aaron when he resided in Belgium. Christmas break was spent in the garage playing Halo and eating frozen pizza. Even after the unhealthy amount of food they consumed, Phil and Aaron were up to an open gym held by the basketball coach. Unfortunately they ended up running suicides, but Aaron was able to make it through with his positive attitude. Phil does say Aaron is “pretty much the same as he was in 7th grade. Both physically and mentally”, but Aaron is far from immature. He is described as being serious when needed, despite his ability to enjoy a messy room.

Aaron has had his eyes set on Virginia Tech since around age twelve. Even though he has traveled and lived all around the world, he still chose one of the best schools in the country. Although he is a surfer and would have done well at the University of California, San Diego, Tech made more sense with his family’s residency and financing of tuition. A passionate sports fan, Aaron has the enjoyment of the competitive division one sports at Virginia Tech. Here at Tech he is joining intramural basketball and plans on other clubs in his following years. After considering a possible club to join for the next couple years Aaron believes home brew could be a club for him after he turns twenty one. As far as his major, Aaron is considering doing urban planning and development although he still undecided. He plans to find a career he can truly enjoy, specifically one that requires little effort and pays well. He has many options on where to settle, with many networks of friends from his previous residencies. He not only is looking at Australia and Hawaii in terms of traveling, but also is becoming open to living far overseas. But far overseas is a small distance for Aaron. His concept of distance is vast, and he does not have definite plans for the future. Southern California is appealing to him, and he would fit in well with his surfer-like mentality and laid-back, but reasonable personality.

--by James Flippen