MAJOR:
History
DEGREE:
B.A. History, Sociology Minor, ‘05. Master’s in American History, concentration in Sports History, ‘07. Ph.D. Educational Leadership, Adult and Community Education, ‘16
CURRENT POSITION:
Speaker, Lecturer, Consultant
FIRST JOB:
Paperboy, delivering the Morris County Daily Record in New Jersey.
BIGGEST CHALLENGES:
Beginning an academic sojourn at 44 after overcoming alcoholism and drug addiction, raising my son as a single parent, as well as coming as an amputee.
BEST FAU MEMORY:
To be part of the ground floor support of FAU’s fledgling football program. Also, the wonderful relationships that were cultivated as a mentor and tutor for the athletic department.
ROLE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY PLAYED IN YOUR CAREER:
The cadre of professors all helped me through a process I had never developed. Their encouragement and support were integral in helping achieve my academic goals I never thought possible. Zella Linn often helped me when I couldn’t help myself. However, the role of friend and mentor was fulfilled beyond mere words by Dr. Stephen Engle. I will never be able to return to each of them what they gave to me.
GOAL:
To, as the tired cliché goes, “Change the world one life at a time. More, if they’re willing to pay attention.”
FAVORITE BOOK:
By age, it started with “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,” by Dr. Theodore Geisel Seuss. By middle school, it was “Ball Four,” by Jim Bouton. After high school, it was “The Fountainhead,” by Ayn Rand, and “The Electric Kool-Aid Test,” by Tom Wolfe. However, “Patriots,” by A. J. Langguth, changed the way I thought about history, which changed everything about the way I now view the world.
PERSONAL:
My wife Helen, and my son Cory, have been very supportive throughout the academic climb. Let’s see if the prognostications of friends and colleagues come to fruition.
