BA in Communications 1994 from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Biography
I was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Temple University I moved around the country and in each stop I found myself working in one of two fields, carpentry and teaching.
In California while simultaneously working as a bouncer and a handyman, I also had the opportunity to teach carpentry to elementary school students as part of an after school program. That experience taught me how valuable hands-on learning could be to understanding math.
In Vermont I started out framing houses and then I was both challenged and educated by working at a vocational school for at-risk boys. I got to see many sides of the educational process working as a paraprofessional, a classroom math teacher, and a building trades teacher. The exposure to students with vastly different learning styles helped me appreciate the need to always be able to approach teaching from different angles and with an open mind.
When our first child was born, my wife and I decided that I would be the stay-at-home parent. We also decided that we wanted to raise our child in a more culturally diverse setting (and a warmer climate to be quite honest). Having lived in Austin before, where I worked as a carpenter, we knew that was where we wanted to live long term.
When we moved back in 2005 I went back to school to earn my required math credits and then enrolled in ACC's Teacher Certification Program. Since completing the program I've been a proud Travis Rebel.