Biography:

I attended Walla Walla College in Walla Walla Washington from 1972 to 1974. I was a physics major wanting to be an astronomer. However, I became fascinated with the campus computer. But my first computer class didn’t go well – I was relieved to receive a C. That would be that except for an annoying friend who was taking a class with me that assigned a project. He wanted to do computer art – using characters to make images and creative display of text. It was a pain but something happened – things started clicking. I started to understand programming – and became good at it! And we got an A for our project!

But Walla Walla at the time did not have a computer science degree. So I transferred to Pacific Union College in Angwin California in 1974. I had been an average student but with my new CS courses, I had actually gotten mad that I was “only” second from the top in one class. That was different. In 1976, I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and moved to Southern California.

I worked in the industry for 9 years and got roped into teaching a computer class at the local school district. It was non-credit for working adults. I was literally the first teacher in that field. It was rocky but I found myself enjoying it. The industry was a bit rocky – layoffs of my co-workers and such. So I decided to get my “union card” to teach at the college level – obtain a Master’s in CS. I attended West Coast University from 1980 to 1982. That was before WC got taken over by a Nursing program about 10 years later.

It took a bit of time to get a teaching position in January 1986 in Laramie Wyoming. I was a contract instructor. There I learned my trade. Unfortunately for the three and a half years, I did not get a raise. So I went back to the industry in 1989 in Broomfield Colorado (a suburb of Denver). But this time I was laid off and looked for employment – a teaching job. In 1993, I got one at Columbia Union College in Takoma Park Maryland, a small college on the outskirts of Washington D.C.

For 13 years I taught there and was CS department head for 11 of those years. Helped build up the department and computer labs. Alas the college faced financial difficulties, I had the largest salary and they did not have tenure. So off I went to Glendale California.

In 2007, I was hired full-time contractor at Glendale Community College for a semester. After that, I became an adjunct. I still looked for full-time employment. Fortunately, I was hired full time in 2012 by GCC and here I am!