This is the lucky seventh weekly installment of our 149 part series, "Better Know a Ross Student". Every week on Wednesday we will be introducing another member of our fantastic class.
This week: Nick!
I like how we are starting this week. Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.
Another New Yorker??? How did you end up at Ross?
From the University of Missouri, I was told to expect four more years of cold winters. My interviewer from Ross on the other hand, told me to look forward to a bountiful bevy of boisterous beautiful babes bouncing around in bikinis. It was the alliteration that got me.
You know, I was promised the same thing but I must be going to the wrong beaches. Ladies, lets get on this! What do you like most about the veterinary profession?
As with most other people, I love the animals. Through all my academic ups and downs, relationships, and running successes and failures throughout college, my dog was there with me the whole way. She didn't care if I didn't do well on an exam or if I totally bombed out of a race; she just wanted to lick my face a little bit and snuggle with me when I went to bed. I want to be able to make sure that everyone who is fortunate enough to have a pet that they care about as much as I care about my dog can see them live a healthy and fruitful life.
Definitely could have guessed that answer from your picture at the top. Favorite thing about St. Kitts?
My new scooter.
Least Favorite?
My POS car.
I am assuming one definitely has to do with the other. What do you miss most about home?
I miss my dog tremendously. She'll be down here next semester, but not having her around has been rough. I miss my family and friends too but they're easy to keep up with. Being a Jew from New York, I also miss lox.
Mmmmm, Lox-Bagel Sammich. What breed of dog are you most like and why?
First two breeds that come to mind are Jack Russell Terrier and Great Dane. Make of it what you will. I also like English Bulldogs but I'm really not like them at all. And I have to give a shout out to my own doggy's breed, the Canaan Dog, the only native Israeli breed, though I'm nothing like her as she is scared of everything and her only defense mechanism is rolling over and displaying her undersides.
Not a very Israel-ish response for the Canaan dog, but I bet it works for her. What is the worst job you ever had?
Toss up between valeting cars and working at the Gap. Valeting cars paid horrendously but I got to meet some interesting people which provided good life experience. As for the Gap, the only thing I got out of working there was learning that I absolutely loathe retail. I lasted 6 weeks before I couldn't take it anymore. At times, I would stand at one table and fold the same pile of shirts over and over for upwards of two hours before moving on to a neatly stacked pile of jeans that also called to me for refolding.
Who did you idolize while growing up and why?
When I was really little I thought the guy who played tennis with the pony tail in "jorts" was the biggest bad-ass in the world, and I anointed him my hero. Andre Agassi remains a hero of mine to this day. But because Jews tend to lack in athletic ability and I realized that I was probably not going to become a world class tennis player, I had to turn my attention to someone more reasonable: a doctor...or a lawyer...or an accountant. My dad fit the bill. He was, and still is, a small animal veterinarian. More importantly though, he is the most compassionate man I know, and through observing him, I learned most of what I know about veterinary medicine, sports, relationships, love, and life. My dad is my hero.
Follow up question, does your dad also look and dress this bad-ass? Because that would be awesome. If you were a cruise ship tourist on a bus that was being robbed on Brimstone Hill, what would you do?
S*** my pants and wet myself. Probably both at the same time.
I would have gone with rolling over and displaying my undersides. What's your idea of a perfect woman?
Vagina...just kidding...but seriously. This is a tough question. Really, there is no perfect woman. And I'm not a perfect guy. As a Moulin Rouge fanatic however, I truly believe that love is like oxygen, love is a many splendid wonder, and that love can overcome all obstacles. When I find my perfect woman, I'll let you know
Very romantic. To the bevy of bouncing bikini babes out there: Nick is still looking! If you were the President for a day, what would you do?
Oh boy what a loaded question. In the morning I would set forth an entirely liberal social agenda and have it pass unanimously through the house and senate, prime amongst which would be legalizing gay marriage, instituting an irrevocable pro-choice decision, and legalizing marijuana. After a light lunch, I would cut down on troops anywhere in the Middle East not called Iran then send troops into Iran with the end goal being the delivery of Ahmadinejad's head on a platter to me. Next, I would again unanimously pass through congress a celebrity tax stating that any celebrity making over X million dollars a year must pay Y (Y being a large, large number) percentage of their money to the government. More important than the minimal amount of money derived from these selfish and egotistical albeit occasionally entertaining bunch of narcissists would be the (cautiously optimistic) alteration in the basis of celebrity worship and subsequent overhaul of American society and culture as a whole. Finally, after dinner I'd watch Scrubs, walk my dog, read a book, and go to bed.
Wow. I feel like that would solve just about all our problems. Are you sure you want to be a vet instead of the first Jewish president? What was your greatest triumph when running track?
My best race was a cross country race my junior year in Oshkosh, WI in which I broke 26 minutes for 8k for the first time and scored for the first time and gained a lot of confidence as a runner.
Scrubs. It is my favorite TV show ever and I've cycled through the first 8 seasons (there was a 9th but it was awful) somewhere around 20 times. I still watch at least an episode a night but usually more like 2 or 3.
Speaking of which, I'm sure I have seen Dr. Beardface walking around campus lately. Where do you see yourself in 15 years? I'll be 38. I guess I hope to be married with a kid or two. I'll probably live in Brooklyn. I don't like looking that far into the future though. I'm a day-by-day guy.
I was hoping you would have solved all our problems by then President Nick, but I guess your answer sounds good too.
Thanks Nick, and we will see you all next week!
