I graduated from Illinois Wesleyan with a degree in Mathematics, and then continued by math studies at ISU, graduating with a Master's Degree in Math with a focus on Probability and Statistics. I applied at State Farm as an Actuary but they no openings and instead offered me a job as a programmer, with the offer that at some future point I could internally post for openings as an Actuary. The Systems Dept was just starting to grow and I only programmed for a couple of years before becoming a trainer for new programmers, then a Manager in IT to a Director to my current position as Lead IT Architect.

Carol and I both retired in 2013 and we spend our time traveling and spending time in both DC and Venice CA with our girls and their families.

In my second year at State Farm I met the woman of my dreams, Carol, who was also a programmer at State Farm. We were married in 1982 and when Erin was born, Carol left the work force to raise our family. We shared the joy of raising 2 talented, smart, and beautiful girls. Erin has a passion and talent for dance that she has developed by studying the art since she was 5 years old. You can see videos and information on the Internet. Elisa also danced, but had other passions including playing softball and riding horses. Through high school and college she was an Eventer, riding her thoroughbred, Hagen's Mug at events in Kentucky, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Carol and I spend our spare time traveling and visiting our girls.

My favorite teacher was Mr Harden. He taught first and second year physics and knew how to make experiments fun. One of them was the wind tunnel where we used cigarettes to create our smoke - those were the days. He lived up the street from where I grew up. His wife, Nadine, taught literature and English at AHS.