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!
