Love, Kansas

Kansas is the gift that continuously keeps giving back. The space where rural, suburban, and a city experience all merge to create a community that is one of a kind, rooted in community support and investment. Kansas allows for your wildest career dreams and aspirations to become reality; a reality that exists today not 20 years down the line.

I have lived in Kansas most all of my life, moving around with my father’s job while I was younger. We landed in Independence a few times — and it ended up just being the place I came back to as an adult. This a great place to raise kids in a safe environment. There are plenty of activities for young kids up to adults to enjoy a laid-back lifestyle. As a young professional, there are also many opportunities to grow your career.

After graduating from K-State, my wife and I moved to California. Years later, we returned to Kansas for a better place to build both our careers and our family. We’ve found immense happiness and opportunity here, both personally and professionally. I’m proud to give back to our community through local school volunteering and engagement with business organizations.

My roots are from Western Kansas, but after 20 years of living in Colorado we thought it was time to return to small town America.  We landed in Wamego and couldn’t think of anywhere else we would want to raise our family.  We are proud to call Kansas home.

I moved back to my hometown in 2019 to have a medical procedure and stayed because of family, friends and the opportunity to grow my business. After living in big cities for the past 20 years, I’ve been able to bring back all of the skills I’ve learned and I’m able to make a huge impact locally.

After leaving home, I lived in NJ, NM, and OK across 23 years and traveled most of the U.S., but nothing provided the atmosphere to raise my children like KS. Here, my children have access to a better education system, the opportunity to be 4th generation friends with other families I grew up with, and a chance to grow up with family. I had wanted to move home for a long time, but with my doctorate and a career, remote work made it possible for me to live and raise my children where I wanted without giving up my career. Now, I can teach my children the value of taking pride in their community in a way I’ve never been able to before.

We boomeranged back to raise our boys near family and to start a business. It was a great place to get my start because people really want to help you. The community is invested in its young professionals. There are so many things to do with young kids here too!

My heart has always been in Kansas. I was afforded so many great experiences and opportunities growing up in the small town of Abilene. Nearly 15 years away living in four other states gave me a new perspective on what mattered most in my life. I realized I could come home to practice dentistry in an underserved area, make a real impact on people’s health, and give back to the community that shaped me into the person I am today. In the back of my mind, I probably spent the past decade looking for a place just like my hometown to finally settle and start a family. With that in mind, I realized Dorothy was onto something: “There’s no place like home.”

After 5 years on the east coast, my wife and I were searching for a place to put down roots, start a family, and find good jobs and a great neighborhood. That’s what we found in her hometown of Overland Park where we’re surrounded by family, our friends from college and new friends. We love living in a neighborhood that offers an urban feel and the convenience of easy access to everything we need, but the small town feel of seeing friends and neighbors at the park and around town.