After serving four years as an Army Ranger and three deployments to Afghanistan, Brendan attended the University of South Florida to study computer science & engineering and pattern recognition, receiving a BS in 2007 and an MS in 2008. He then came to MSU to study pattern recognition and biometrics with Professor Anil Jain, one of the top scientists in the world focusing on biometrics. The software programs they developed utilizes pattern recognition to analyze facial sketches and photos. There is a high demand for such facial recognition programs and the skill set that Brendan acquired as a University Enrichment Fellow at Michigan State. He had many potential job opportunities in this field when he graduated in May, 2012. In addition to his University Enrichment Fellowship, Brendan was also the recipient of the Honeywell Best Student Paper Award, BTAS, 2010.