Biography

I entered the United States Army as a Private (E-1) immediately after graduation from high school. I was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina for 8 weeks of Basic Training. At the in-processing station, I had my first weigh-in. I was 5'1" tall and weighed 131 pounds. I was little bitty. I struggled to complete the 13 push-ups required to even start Basic Training. I learned and developed quickly, qualified Expert in markmanship, and was assigned as the lead road guard for our platoon. At the graduation ceremony, I was recognized as the "Most Improved Soldier".

After Basic Training, I was reassigned to Fort Devens, Massachusetts for Advanced Individual Training as an Electronic Warfare-Signals Intelligence-Morse Intercept Operator. That's a very long title to say, I copied morse code. The course is a semi-self-paced program scheduled for a 180 day duration. I was able to quickly master the skills necessary and finished the program in 81 days, for which I was awarded an Army Achievement Medal and Letter of Commendation.

AIT offered more freedoms than we were allowed in Basic Training, so I took the opportunity to explore Boston. Growing up in the midwest, I had never experienced such a large city with extremely tall skyscrapers. It was a sight to behold.

My first duty station was USASA Field Station Augsburg near Augsburg, Germany. Upon arrival, my reputation as a superb morse interceptor had preceded me, and I was immediately assigned to the highest priority mission in the field station. I became very proficient in my assigned duties quickly and maintained my Expert markmanship qualification throughout my career.

Arriving in Germany was a bit shocking when I noticed german battle tanks parked at the airport. The initial surprise aside, my tour of duty in Europe was extraordinary. I enjoyed the opportunity to visit many exciting places including Schloss Neuschwanstein, Geneva, Switzerland, and many cities and towns throughout Germany.

During my 6½ years on active duty, I had the opportunity to serve at several more locations. San Antonio, Texas provided the opportunity to visit The Alamo, camp at the Armed Forces Recreation Center, and stroll down the riverwalk. Schofield Barracks, Hawaii offered my first opportunity to put my feet in the ocean, a visit to the Arizona Memorial and breathtaking views. Augusta, GA hosted the Masters Tournament and the opportunity to revisit Fort Jackson, SC, where my military career began. Prince George, VA presented a unique opportunity for family to visit our nation's capitol, tour the White House, Smithsonian American History Museum, and the many monuments dedicated to our history. Uijeongbu, South Korea introduced a unique cultural perspective, sunrise at 4am, bartering for nearly all goods, and the setting for M*A*S*H.

Associate of Arts

                School: Johnson County Community College
                Major:  Paralegal
                GPA:    3.84
            

Courses: Physical Geography, Logic and Critical Thinking, Introduction to Law, Paralegal Professional Studies, Legal Writing, Legal Ethics Interviewing and Investigations

Paralegal Certification

                School: Johnson County Community College
                Major:  Paralegal
                GPA:    3.84
            

Courses: Legal Research, Civil Litigation, Family Law, Wills Trusts and Probate, Bankruptcy, Criminal Litigation, Administrative Law

Javascript and Java Web Development

                School: Launchcode
                Focus:  Javascript and Java Web Development
            

Training: Javascript, Jasmine(Unit Testing), HTML, CSS, GitHub(Version Control), JSON, TypeScript, Angular, Java, JUnit(Unit Testing), Springboot (MVC), Thymeleaf(Templating), MySQL