I grew up in lots of places in the U.S., as my dad was in the U.S. Army. We eventually settled in Seattle, which is where I count my honorary hometown (military brats need to claim someplace!). While I was raised in a religious home, and became a Christian as a little kid, my faith became "really" real later, in college. My mom was dealing with some very severe mental-health challenges in the wake of my parents' divorce, and was hospitalized, twice. She's since recovered and is doing well, but for a long time things were scary and uncertain for both my younger brother and I. We were on our own, as we didn't have much in the way of extended family who could help us. It was only then that I really had to come face-to-face with what it meant to depend on God. To me, belief isn't some cheesy or easy choice, but a life-giving and sustaining force that is a gift and a real force for good. When my students tell me about their own struggles, especially with mental health, or tough things going on in their lives, I can have some empathy. I also study journalism and media history, which I think is ultimately about telling true stories about our messed-up and simultaneously beautiful world. Through stories, we can speak truth to power and also speak for those who don't have much of a voice, or none at all. I'm happy to talk about my research in that realm or just about life in general, if you wanted to reach out. Before I became a professor, I was also in the U.S. Navy, and so my other favorite thing in teaching is connecting with my military students. When I'm not reading or visiting an archive, I like to go camping with my family, hiking with my wife, dancing with friends and hanging out with all of the above. I have toddler named Theo and a choodle (a chihuahua poodle!) named Roux, who sometimes comes with me to office hours.