Posted on Friday, October 22, 2021
Briefly tell us about your military service.
I spent two years serving in the United States Army from 1972-1974 as a medic. My training included basic training at Ft. Polk, Louisiana, and advanced individual training at Fort Sam Houston, TX. I was stationed in South Korea for 13 months with the 43rd Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) unit, and spent my last six months at Fort Knox, KY.
How did serving our country change your life?
Serving in the military really exposed me to people of all cultures and ethnic backgrounds. It also reinforced the principals of being timely, being responsible and doing things the correct way. These are principals that would serve any student.
Did you serve before or after your time at TSU?
I had attended Texas Southern University for one year (1971-72) prior to being drafted in the summer of 1972 and reporting in September of 1972. Due to deferment changes in 1971 a person selected was only allowed to complete one semester if they were currently enrolled in school.
My two years of service ended in September of 1974. The next day after being released from service I was back on the yard at TSU doing late registration, as was another TSU alum that was drafted at the same time as me. That alum went on to graduate for Pharmacy school (College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences) and eventually got his law degree, both from TSU. At that time the fall semester started later than it does now.
What did you do after graduation?
After graduation in 1978 I worked for 33 years as a software engineer with four contractor companies at NASA on the Space Shuttle Project: IBM Federal System Division, Loral, Lockheed Martin and United Space Alliance. At the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Project, I retired. I spend some of my time now raising cattle.
Category: Students, Faculty & Staff, News Media, Alumni