Nelson Mora, PE

The fruit trees! I grew up in Cuba and moved to the U.S. when I was 12, and I love that we’re able to grow mango and guava trees in our backyard like we used to in the Caribbean. The weather is nice, too, despite the seldom spoken of hot, humid, and rainy Florida summers.

I believe the next generation will be more emotionally intelligent and stronger communicators. They will have a better understanding of how important it is to be inclusive of different viewpoints and work cohesively with people from all walks of life.

I watched the Food Network a lot in college – from Guy Fieri to Cake Boss. I like creating things, so I started baking and decorating my own cakes with homemade fondant. I once made a cake that looked like a jet fighter plane, and I also baked my oldest daughter’s first birthday cake. I used to make them for friends and even sold a few!

Between my two- and four-year-old daughters and my wife, we’re a tight bunch. We like to travel and go on road trips to North Carolina and east Tennessee, and we, hopefully, have a cross country trip coming soon. My kids speak Spanish, and we’d like to keep it that way for as long as we can, but my wife and I speak English and Spanish – more like Spanglish!

I’m a huge fan of Robin Williams and Carl Sagan. In the words of the latter, “We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” We need not worry so much about our legacy, our pride, our stuff, but perhaps live each moment for the mere sake of the experience regardless of how insignificant it may appear. Because we really have just that – a fraction of a moment in time.