"I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school on time. My mom graduated late and my dad dropped out. I was the first person to go to college and so if I graduated from college I could be like, 'Look. I did this.' It looks good not only for me but for my younger brothers and sisters who don't know what they want to do...but if I get my degree and I'm doing good in life hopefully I can inspire them to be like, 'I want to be like Adam. I want to do that too.'" CALLOUT: "Hopefully I can inspire them." 

"I've struggled with alcohol. That runs in my family, alcohol abuse. I was really good because I didn't drink all throughout high school. And then when I got to college I didn't drink at all until my second semester my freshman year, and then it was like every weekend that's all I did. And then once I got my own apartment it went from like every weekend to everyday. And then there would be days when I wouldn't even go to work because I'd be hungover or something like that. That was another reason I joined the Army, to get my life in order in that sense because I quit all the other stuff that I was doing, but then I started solely drinking. So joining the Army and not being able to smoke, dip, drink, any of that stuff for 4 months and if you do get caught with that you are in serious trouble; you lose your rank, you lose your money, you lose all kinds of stuff. It was definitely an eye-opening experience. Like after 4 months I didn't touch that stuff and when I got home I had a little bit but I was like I don't really need that anymore. I mean once in a while is fine but once you're doing it all the time you've got to get help. If you're not willing to change yourself then you've got to get help."   CALLOUT:  "Then there would be days when I wouldn't even go to work because I'd be hungover." 

"USM wasn't my first choice. My first choice was to go to Husson College to play football, but I couldn't afford it and USM was cheap. So I went to USM and I've actually really liked it. With a campus in Portland and a campus in Gorham it's really convenient. I lived in Gorham so it was more convenient for me to be in Gorham, but the shuttle bus to Portland helped a lot." 

“I’ve been making connections with people. I think networking is the key to getting a job in today’s world. All of the jobs that I’ve landed in were because of my ability to meet people and to make a good connection with them…If I know you and I’m hiring and I have a stack of papers on my table I’m not going to go read through 300 applications. ‘Oh, you know this guy? Ok, I’m going to hire him.’ Boom, I just saved myself three hours of reading…You have to find a way to not just stand out in a crowd, but be efficient. Make yourself so acceptable to companies, not just by your smarts but also by how adaptable you are. I think that’s very important. I try to poke my nose into everything. This small city [Portland] has a lot of opportunities. You have to be almost annoying to a certain point. If you want it bad enough I think people will recognize that. Then again, don’t be too pushy. Definitely go out and meet people.”