How I got to where I am today has been quite a convoluted journey. Enjoy!

Concordia University: Ann Arbor, MI

1990-1994: Bachelor of Arts Major: Lutheran Theology / Pre-Seminary Minor: Greek

I started off on a track to be a fighter pilot with my "sights" set on attending the Air Force Academy, but then I had to get glasses during my junior year of high school. I decided to pursue aeronautical engineering, but late in my senior year, I had a calling placed on my heart to help people more directly. My brother was a teacher so that was the direction I followed. While at Concordia, some friends convinced me to change programs to pre-seminary and study to be a Lutheran pastor.

Concordia Seminary: St. Louis, MO

1994-1995: Did not complete

Debilitating anxiety had been a struggle of mine since I was about fifteen. On a side note, I am happy to report that because of God's strength and grace, the support of my family, and the wise counsel of a few key friends and colleagues, I am now finally free from the disorder. While in St. Louis, I found myself being driven by my insecurities to unrealistic expectations about what it means to serve as a pastor. Although I received extremely high grades, because of my struggles with anxiety I was asked by the school to consider a different calling after completing two years.

Saginaw Valley State University: Saginaw, MI

1997-2002: Secondary Ed. Certification Major: Social Studies Minor: Computer Science

After working various jobs for a few years, I decided to go back to school with a mind to work in the information technology field. In my second year, I switched back to education. Since my major and minor during my first undergraduate experience were extremely occupationally focused, I pretty much ended up starting over and taking a complete four-year tour with a new major and minor.

Saginaw Valley State University: Saginaw, MI

2010-2013: Spanish Certification (almost)

Languages have always been an interest of mine, having taken Greek, Hebrew, German, and French during my school years. Shortly after I obtained my teaching certificate, I decided to apply my skills to the task of teaching myself Spanish. By 2010, I had taken a position teaching computers and Spanish to grade school students at four Lutheran schools in Bay City. Since finding qualified teachers with Spanish credentials was extremely difficult, I was given the position with the condition that I pursue my certificate. I have sufficient credits for a minor in Spanish but was unable to pass the oral exam to get certified. 

Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI

2021-2023: Master of Arts in Educational Technology (Pending)

By this time, I was in my seventh year at my dream job teaching computer science at Valley Lutheran High School. Incidentally, the school originally wanted me to teach Spanish (see previous entry). Seeing a need for having an on-staff technology resource both for the school's teachers and for the elementary schools in the region, Valley asked me to pursue my master's degree to help prepare me for this task.

St. Peter Lutheran School: Richmond, MI

2004-2005: Classroom Teacher

Teaching jobs were seemingly scarce when I first received my certification and I ended up subbing for two years. My first job was at a small Lutheran school in the northeastern suburbs of Detroit. I taught 8th-grade math and religion, 6th-8th social studies and Spanish, and K-8 computers.

St. Stephens Lutheran School: Hickory, NC

2005-2006: Classroom Teacher

I went down south for my second teaching position to the furniture capital of the U.S.A. in the western Appalachians to teach 5-8 math and K-8 computers.

Calvary Lutheran School: Silver Spring, MD

2006-2007: Classroom Teacher

After back-to-back exceptionally stressful and conflict-filled experiences and while struggling more and more with my persistent anxiety disorder, I was in no position mentally to have taken this position in the northern suburbs of D.C. In early April, I resigned from my teaching position for health reasons and returned home to Michigan.

UNO Chicago Grill: Bay City, MI

2008-2011: Restaurant Server

I left education for a few years and got my feet back under me while working as a restaurant server. By the way, because of this experience, I think that everyone should work in a restaurant at least once in their life so they will understand what goes on "behind the scenes" in the process of preparing and serving their food (and as a result learn to be more understanding and patient with their servers, cooks, and other restaurant workers). During this time, I set myself to learning Spanish and this led to my eventual return to the classroom.

State Street Academy: Bay City, MI

2011-2014: Travelling Spanish and Computer Teacher

Since I am a product of the Lutheran school system myself and had my teaching degree already, I was contacted concerning an opportunity to teach at the charter school and at four Lutheran grade schools in Bay City. I really enjoyed teaching the students about Hispanic culture and giving them a cursory exposure to the Spanish language. At this time, teaching computers was something that I could also do, but Spanish was my love and focus.

Valley Lutheran High School, MI

2014-present: Computer Science Educator

Well, we have reached the end of our long and circuitous trip and I have no plans of going anywhere else. Thank God! As I mentioned earlier, I was originally asked to be the Spanish teacher, but God had other plans and I absolutely love what I do, where I work, and the staff and students with whom I am privileged to work. Presently, I am working at building the computer science program into a real strength of the school and I look forward to many years of helping students become better computational thinkers.

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