Biography

I was born into a family with many generations of roots in Tennessee, but I grew up in Louisiana. I was not quite two when my father took a job in Baton Rouge selling heavy equipment and we moved from Knoxville. He retired after 18 years at that company, by which time I had grown up in a typical middle-class neighborhood with several friends who I went to school with from elementary through high school. One of those friends is now my wife.

I immediately started college at LSU after I graduated from high school. While I was there, I discovered computers. I immersed myself in programming and hardware design. One of my professors employed me to work in his lab, and his mentoring gave me practical experience beyond the theory I learned in the classroom. I was unable to complete my degree, as I got engaged and had to find a way to support us.

A small software company hired me first, then, after four years, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) offered me a position as a systems architect, a technical support position for sales. The technology, the way I do my job, and the company name have all changed during the time I have been with them. I have to be adaptable and continually studying the advances in the industry. This is truly a field where the only constant is change, and the rate of change has increased over time. My career has been personally rewarding and I am proud I have contributed significantly to several major projects including three generations of modernization for NASA's Space Shuttle control center.

Thoughout my career I always felt I had unfinished business: my college education. Travel for work and the long hours eliminated traditional ways of taking classes. When my two oldest daughters (left and right in the picture) entered college, I discovered the advances in distance learning made my dream possible. Taking two classes a semester, I persevered and completed my B.A. at UCF in 2012. The experience was so rewarding that I entered UCF's Master's program in technical communication in the fall of 2013. This program appealed to me because my work involves communicating technical information. I could achieve two goals at the same time: I could continue my academic work and gain additional skills for my career.

Today, I look forward to exploring the new frontiers opened by my return to school. In addition to technical communication, I am fascinated by the application of technology to the study of the humanities. The need for an interdisciplinary team to address the problems in digital humanities ties in well with my background and research interests.

The picture in this Web site's header reflects not only my roots in the Smoky Mountains but also the dawn of the new opportunities I look to experience in the future. Below is a map marking places I have lived and linking to interesting landmarks in each location, including where I currently live, the Tampa suburb of Riverview (formerly known as Peru).