Thank you for the congratulations. I’m really excited to be able to serve this university in a full-time fashion.

People gain different things from their educational journey, mine being a realization of the importance of process. The combination of my life experience and the cadence of the undergraduate and graduate programs really connected what had been missing for me. If I can help others in similar situations by showing them how they can access and complete a program like this, I feel I will have done my part in the system.

There is something very rewarding about observing someone figure something out, and I have always enjoyed that experience, no matter what organization I have been involved with.

I cannot say that I started out with a goal of becoming an instructor. But I can say, by reflecting on my own path up to this point, that each stop along my way has involved helping others get where they needed to be. Education is one of those things that you can’t really part with once you have it, and I enjoy being part of the program that can provide that asset to those who really want it.

I know I can’t always make it happen, but I am pretty passionate about doing the right thing by people who are willing to put the work in to better their own situation. I had a guy tell me one time that if you help enough people get where they need to be, you’ll find yourself where you need to be.

I am passionate about leaving things better than how I found them. No discredit to those who came before us, but we do live in a changing world and there are always improvements to be made. I enjoy finding those opportunities and making these improvements a reality.

I’m also passionate about being genuine. Perhaps it is my age, but it seems that we, as a society, are OK with living in a constant state of trying to be more than we are, and to get more than we have, no matter the cost. Please don’t get me wrong, as I’m cool with pushing ourselves—but I’m also cool with taking a little bit of time to really figure out who we are, what our individual gifts and strengths are, and using that information to better the situations that life deals us.

I’m really excited. There are a lot of changes happening here… I’m a big support of change, as it shows growth. And there is a great support group in place now; I'm very happy to be part of it.

I hope that our test environment will give students a place to try things that they may not feel comfortable with in their current journey. That kind of environment supports growth, and if a student leaves here with more than they came with, we’ll be fulfilling a significant part in the system.

I’m also excited about becoming more connected with this university and where that will lead us, as well as the opportunity to hone my own craft as an instructor. I really enjoy seeing that lightbulb come on in the adult learner's mind.

My wife and I are sort of “serial entrepreneurs.” We spend time working with our kids on business planning, start-ups, etc. I’m not 100% they really enjoy these experiences, but I am 100% certain that it’s good for them. We have a small handful of ventures in the developmental chute right now:

• Clear Creek Paintball: Paintball & GellyBall parties and entertainment
• The Potato Project: Food and contracts made available to business / individuals who wish to contribute directly to the food insecurity issues in the immediate and surrounding communities
• Creating systems for growing food for those that need it the most. We’ve worked with a group called Feed Iowa First for several years to develop food systems that can support someone interested in growing nutritional produce. It is an interesting dilemma, as traditional farming is capital intensive, and non-traditional farming is labor intensive... It’s our goal to find a nice middle ground and remove the barriers that we’ve run into along the way in our organic farming venture.