I was graduated from Bertha-Hewitt High School (Minnesota) in 1985.
Believe it, or not, I was voted "Most Likely to Succeed".
Sort of a 'Nerd Award'.  As evidence, my graduation photograph:

(I told you)

After high school, like many others in my situation, I had no idea what to do.
To postpone any decision, I joined the U.S. Air Force.  I was patriotic, anyway, and felt some desire to give some of my time to the country that I lived in.  I was stationed in Feldberg, Germany, which was a part of Rhein-Main AFB in Frankfurt.  It was a mountain top assignment (a beautiful, wooded mountain, not a rocky, desolate one), and only had about 60 people assigned there.  I was also stationed in Sacramento, CA, at McClellan AFB.  It is now closed, and I have no idea what the space is used for now.  Perhaps the bodies of the Roswell aliens are stored there.
It was a fun-filled four years.

I enrolled in a Robotics Automated Systems Technology course at Staples Technical College in conjunction with Brainerd Community College.  All the time thinking that I could've done this right after graduation, and I would be four years ahead of the game.  After completion of the course, I now possess an A.A.S. degree.  So much for "Most Likely to Succeed".  At the end of school, Fate took a liking to me.  Perhaps Fate has some mental problems that led to her selecting me to receive more than I was looking for.  Or maybe there was a mix-up, and some individual out there is working very hard, and getting dumped on.
Who knows?  But I digress.

A leading robotics company, FANUC Robotics, called into my school looking for someone good with programming in Karel/Pascal, and was a good, logical problem isolator and general troubleshooter.  FANUC flew me out for a job interview, and I got a job as a Service Engineer.  I flew out to customers when they had problems with their robots, and got their equipment running again.  During the four years that I worked there, I traveled to a variety of locations, and became proficient in electrical problems, software, and what I call "oddities".  Oddities are problems that are bizarre, unique, mystical, and sometimes even difficult.  Sort of the "X-files" of robotics.  I would still be working there, if it weren't for a phone call.

One day I was talking to a friend of mine who also worked at FANUC Robotics (he was also a classmate of mine at Staples), and he told me he just got hired by Saturn.  He said there was another job opening, and asked if I were interested in applying for the position.  I did.  If nothing else, I would get interview experience, plus see where my newly purchased '94 Saturn coupe was made.  I had bought it literally the day before.  Coincidence, fate, whatever.

I have been working at Saturn for over five years, now.  I work with a team of people that do an excellent job of keeping the robots running as well as they do.  I am a resource to them, as well as the various other engineers working on projects that involve robots.  I enjoy my work, and continue to learn every day.  It is sort of a corny "dreams come true" history that I have, but I find that it suits me very well.

I got married to my wife, Shannon, on August 28th, 1999 in Edgar Evins State Park.  We have three wonderful children, Joshua (6 yrs. old), Michael (3 yrs. old), and now baby Jeffrey (born May 1st, 2000).  Check out the Family Section for information on my family.  Of course, there are lots of pictures!  It wouldn't be much of a family section without pictures, would it?

And that takes us to today...