My Story...

I have no idea where to start talking about my life, so I'll just start in the middle (for no apparent reason).

I grew up in Richardson, Texas where I attended Berkner High School.  In high school, I was a member of the wrestling team, and wrestled at the 180 lb weight class.  Because I know someone will ask, no, it was nothing like WWF, WWE, or any of the fake wrestling you see on TV, all of which I absolutely loathe.  In addition to wrestling, senior year I managed to take weightlifting, a couple of shop classes, and oh yea, AP Chemistry.

During high school years you generally start to discover things that really interest you.  I found out that I loved to work on cars, and went out and bought my first vehicle, a 1966 Chevrolet truck.  I still do not believe that any human being has ever been more proud of a vehicle.  I worked and worked on it, and finally got it into decent shape in time to sell it off before I went to college.

I decided to go out to Texas Tech to attend college, originally intending to become a Mechanical Engineer.  As do many students, I lived in on-campus, and quickly got involved in campus life.  Although I did not drink or party, and generally avoided people that did, I still managed to do just about everything but study.  I soon found out that at the college level, that type of lifestyle doesn't usually work.  Tech placed me on scholastic probation for my poor grades.

I came home during the summer to angry parents and a lot of confusion.  I wasn't really enjoying engineering school at all.  I had no doubt that I could do it...I just didn't like it.  I have always been the type of person who can excel at the things I like, and really stink at the things I don't like.  This all got me thinking.  During my high school years (and even into college) I had always returned home to run a summer camp for teens.  I loved working with the kids, and seemed to be able to connect with them.  My mom was the one who first mentioned that I should consider teaching.  My response was the same as anyone else who has just recognized their initial calling to teach:  no way.  I proceeded to think up every excuse in the book on why I shouldn't do it, and of course money was always the ultimate excuse.  However, the seed was planted.  I went to visit one of my favorite former teachers at the high school, and happened to casually mention the idea of teaching to her.  Without hesitation, and with complete conviction, she told me that she had always thought I would be a great teacher.  Suddenly, I had an answer, but was it the one I really wanted?

I returned to college the next year and switched majors.  At the same time, I met the woman who would become my wife.  She and I dated for about 7 months, and I proposed (when you know, you just know!).  We were married in December of 1998, our Junior year at Tech.

In December of 2000, I graduated from Tech with a degree in Multidisciplinary Science, and a minor in Psychology.  Having at that point lost all sanity, I decided that instead of stopping, I'd just go on and get a Master's degree.  I began to search for places to go, and discovered University of Houston.  It was convenient, and my family had all moved down there, so I would now be within easy driving distance of them.  We moved there in January of 2001, anticipating another move out of Houston once I completed my coursework. 

During my time at UH, I began working at San Jacinto College South Campus, teaching Algebra I and II to high-school graduates who had not done well in math.  During this time I really discovered how much I truly love teaching.  I never particularly had liked math in high school (although I really grew to appreciate it in college), but found that I really didn't care what I taught:  I just liked to teach.

I began working at Lee High School in January of 2002, filling in an open IPC/ Biology position.  The next two years I did all IPC, finally moving to Physics in 2004.  Physics was what I had always wanted to teach, and I never really expected to be doing it so soon.  My final year at Lee I became the department chair and had to split my time between teaching Physics and doing departmental duties.  My time at Lee was good.  During my tenure, I  learned a lot about life, about how fortunate I really am, about how people work, and about areas in which I need to grow.  At Lee I served on practically every committee known to mankind, and met people in the department who will be lifelong friends of mine.  I have a ton of respect for the faculty I worked with at Lee.

In the fall of 2006 I moved to Sterling High School to teach Physics.  I work with a large number of great teachers, and they are constantly giving me new ideas and inspiration. 

My wife is an independent photographer who is very talented.  We have been happily married for almost 9 years now.  I have two sons, Samuel and Zachary.  Their objective in life is to relieve me of all of my remaining energy after a hard day's work at school!

My interests/ more worthless info...

Favorite type of music:  Blues

Favorite bands:  ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Los Loneley Boys

Favorite movies:  Godfather I, Godfather II, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco (is there a pattern here?)

Favorite TV Show:  24

Interests:  Woodworking, old cars, fishing

Favorite books:  Lonesome Dove, The Bible

My truck.  Why is it interesting?  Go see!

See what I'm currently building!

See news articles written about my truck!