I grew up in Titusville during the Apollo program. I watched the layoffs as the Apollo program wound down and swore that I would never live in Titusville, be an engineer, or work at the Cape. (God must have laughed. I've lived here more than anywhere else, and I've been an engineer at the Cape for a few decades.)

 

After high school, I attended the University of Florida, majoring in chemistry. I spent my junior year in Bonn, Germany. The idea was to study chemistry in German, but when I got to Bonn, my German test scores were weak, so they put me in a six-month German course (eight hours a day, five days a week, six months). I was disappointed, but I've come to see it as one of the best things I ever did. The following year, I spent in Freiburg, Germany, studying math and physics.

 

After Freiburg, I worked various technical jobs in Florida and other states; one had me going back and forth to Germany every couple of months for about two years. I ended up in Texas by accident (literally, I was passing through Houston and totaled my car) and ended up working for the largest German electronics company in the world.

 

It was in Texas that the Lord saved me, I met and married my wife, and we had our first child. A couple of years later, we moved back to Titusville, and I began my career as an engineer working on the Shuttle program; I was hired because I was conversant in technical German. After a few years, I got a BA in English with a minor in computer science from Rollins. (I like languages for humans and computers.) After the BA, I started work on the Delta IV program (we were standing up a new rocket program). I was hired to work on a contract with a German company; for another couple of years, I was back and forth between here and Germany every couple of months. It's odd, but every job I've ever had can be tied back to being able to speak German. I believe this to be the handiwork of God.

 

Near the middle of the Delta IV program, God blessed us with a second child. At TFAI, I'm probably best known as one of the dads. I love the spirit, people, and programs at TFAI, and as I'm now ending my career at KSC (on the Artemis program), I want to share some of the things I've learned along the way. Languages seem like a good fit.