hiː ɡɹˈuː ˌʌp ɪn vˈɛɹiəs plˈeɪsᵻz ɪnðə juːnˈaɪɾᵻd stˈeɪts kˌælɪfˈoːɹniə; mɑːɹlˈɛt, mˈɪʃɪɡən; jˈuːdʒiːn, ˈɔːɹɪɡən; mɪlwˈɔːkiː, wɪskˈɑːnsɪn ænd sˈæntə fˈiː, nˈuː mˈɛksɪkˌoʊ, ænd ðˈɛn kəmplˈiːɾᵻd hɪz hˈaɪ skˈuːl ˌɛdʒuːkˈeɪʃən ɪn sˈɪŋɡɐpˌoːɹ ˌɔn ɐ skˈɑːlɚʃˌɪp æt ðə juːnˈaɪɾᵻd wˈɜːld kˈɑːlɪdʒ ʌv sˈaʊθ ˈiːst ˈeɪʒə, æz ɐ bˈoːɹdɚ, wˌɛɹ hiː ɹᵻsˈiːvd ðɪ ˌɪntɚnˈæʃənəl bˈækɐlˌɔːɹiːˌeɪt dɪplˈoʊmə.
He grew up in various places in the United States (California; Marlette, Michigan; Eugene, Oregon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Santa Fe, New Mexico), and then completed his high school education in Singapore on a scholarship at the United World College of South East Asia, as a boarder, where he received the International Baccalaureate Diploma.