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This page has not been updated for two years..... please see short bio or resume for up to-date info Originally from Missouri, I moved to Englewood, a small town on the west coast of Florida about an hour south of Sarasota, when I was twelve. I went to high school at Lemon Bay, and had the opportunity to take advantage of many of the extracurricular opportunities. My passion for international studies was ignited as I began to study French as a second language, and at the same time had the fortune to become involved in a developing Model United Nations program (which was to work with for the next six years, in varying capacities – first as a delegate, then designing web pages, planning conferences, and even chairing committees). My Junior year in high school a young girl from the former Czechoslovakia (her father’s Czech, and her Mother’s Slovak) happened to study abroad in America… in Florida… and at Lemon Bay. I saw Karin sitting alone at lunch the first week of school, began speaking with her, and a month later we were inseparable friends. Through her I had the occasion to make friends with a number of exchange students from all over the globe, and by the end of the year it was heart-wrenching to see them all go, but especially her. We soon began planning an opportunity to see one another again, and the next summer our hopes materialized. I spent three weeks living with her family in Tomašov, a small village outside of the Slovak capital Bratislava, and another two weeks living in an apartment in Praha/Prague. I had been offered a position teaching an introductory training course on computers for locally operated (but one which had offices across the world) company, Merry Mechanization, that designed and wrote software for sheet metal fabrication. Though I had to decline, opting instead for my first experience abroad, I did take a job as a full time programmer when I returned. I really enjoyed the two years (part time during school, and full-time over the summers) I worked in this field, especially once I began getting larger responsibilities. By the time I had to leave for college, I was leading 3-10 programmers in software design and implementation, and could count a full scale market ready product under my belt, as well as a number of wonderful experiences and great management and team experience. While living in Karin’s home, I became very close with the whole family: her younger brother, 16 at the time, her mother, who spoke no English, but who I communicated with in the few German and Russian phrases we had in common, and somewhat better as I began to pick up more Slovak, and her father, who not speak English either, but who did happen to speak French very well. Recalling from our conversations my deep interest in European history and my desire to travel, Professor Mackrle offered me a position the following summer as his personal secretary and translator – the position was to be unpaid, but my travel costs would be covered as he took me across Europe. We spent almost two months moving from country to country, examining water treatment plants (which was the nature of his business, ECOFLUID), and he was kind enough to take a few detours here and there to acquaint me with local attractions. The interim year I began college, and after my travels returned again to Stetson University, intent on studying Cognitive Science (a combination of Computer Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Linguistics, and Neurobiology, the intention of which is to gain an understanding of the human brain/mind sufficient to attempt an electronic facsimile). I have sense found a deeper love for helping people, and a satisfaction from working with them personally that I don’t find in pure Computer Science or Philosophy. Still, I really enjoy both disciplines, and have therefore decided to apply the abstract and discrete problem solving skills I’ve gained in both, as well as the technical knowledge, with a larger background in Psychology (and a study of business) in the field of consulting. I have done some work with the emerging field of family business which suggests these various modes of though to be as integrated as I believe. In addition to classes, several extra curricular activities have kept me quite busy my first two years. I served as a Student Ambassador, giving campus tours and speaking with prospective students. And I am also an Alumni Ambassador, meeting with Alumni, working in public relations, and helping and charitable events. I volunteer at the Peer Career Center, helping underclassmen, and even upperclassmen, research careers and make decisions about where their interests lie. I was honored to be asked to join ODK, an honorary leadership fraternity, and was elected President for the upcoming year. I also became a member of the International French Honor Society shortly afterwards. Last summer (99) I was awarded a research grant to remain on campus and explore Object Oriented Programming Theory, the results of which should be, among other publications, an online repository for Object Oriented case studies, which will be used by schools, businesses and students via the World Wide Web. I was invited to discuss my research at a conference in October, and expect to make other presentations in the future. My first experience presenting research was a few months before that with a paper on metaphysics, regarding Descartes (originally authored in French, but presented in English) at a conference for undergraduate research, and, although I am still a novice, I am very excited about future research opportunities. At 20 years old, I’m only a Junior this year, but I’ve begun my senior research in philosophy (on multivalent or “Fuzzy” Logic) so as to allow myself enough time for excellence next year with my Computer Science project, for which I hope construct a neural network based expert system (to abstract from a number of individual counseling sessions and provide some assistance for Psychologists in forming hypothesis about patient’s histories). Beyond my school work, I’ve been working hard on a number of other extra-curricular activities. I just finished my term as Vice President of the Inter-Fraternity Council, and Chair of the Judicial Board. I’ve been involved with the Stetson Improvisation Group, , and have also had the wonderful opportunity to work as president of the Stetson Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. We’re working hard towards our $40,000 goal for the construction of a Stetson sponsored House. The group has been able to get lots of media coverage already, and I’m excited to be a part of the work as we look hopefully towards ground breaking in the fall.
This page has not been updated for two years..... please see short bio or resume for up to-date info
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