The age old question of who am I. The shortest answer is I am a lover of all animals thanks to my raising on a farm dedicated to show quality animals. Who ultimately became addicted to technology from a very young age thanks to being fortunate enough to grow up in a family that could afford a personal computer in the early 90s.

I always like to think I am a farmer first and a technology enthusiast second even though today the family no longer owns the farm. I loved growing up on the farm and had it not been due to health issues I would probably still be working on the farm today. There is no job that makes you feel one with nature more then being a farmer enjoying each day with the animals that truly become your best friends. However, life will always throw you a curve ball and I had to pivot my life to focusing on the second part of my life which is technology. I have always been a tinkerer and loved to take things apart and put them back together. Even though admittedly they rarely ever went back together the same way they came apart. This fascination with technology led me to pursue a degree in Information Technology at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. During my time at Cameron University I had the opportunity to take up an internship working with a sweet old lady who would become a major inspiration in my life. She was a volunteer at the Wichita Wildlife Refuge in Lawton, Oklahoma. My job was to aid her in building an interactive database inside Microsoft Access that would allow her to track volunteer hours and awards for all the volunteers at the refuge. It was during this internship that I got my first introduction to geographic information science. She arranged for me to attend a short workshop on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) where I was first introduced to ArcGIS. I immediately realized the potential and power GIS could offer not just to analytical systems but to the practical world as well.

Upon graduating from Cameron University I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the University of Maryland's Geospatial Information Science (GIS) Master's program. During my time at the University of Maryland I was able to expand my knowledge of GIS through several real life design projects. These projects were focused as our finals for each class and allowed you to physically apply the knowledge you leaned in each class to solve real world problems. It was also during this time that I created my first full stack web application. This application was a web based GIS program that allowed for oil field equipment tracking and employee job assignments. The application was intended to no only help keep track of what equipment was on hand at what location, but also who was assigned to what job and where they were located. While my time at the University of Maryland was short as it was a year round program, I was able to learn a lot about GIS development and how to apply it to real world problems.

In the end while my love for farming will always be an important part of my life. I have found a new passion in GIS and web development. I will always dream of what could have been had my health not forced me to pivot my life. However, I am thankful and fortunate for the opportunities I have had and the people I have met along the way.

From me to all of you,

thank you

Give God all the Glory.