My
Childhood
When I was young, I used to enjoy going into the local swamps to hunt for frogs, and various other creatures. This was a favorite pastime of mine, and like any other child I loved to play. When I was in elementary school I took up playing the trumpet, which I still do to this day (I have become quite proficient if I dare say so myself). I also learned I had some more unusual talents which would lead to some interesting experiences later on in life, such talents included various face contortions which most kids attempt, but only a few accel at. When I was in middle school (6th grade) I was not well liked by most of the other students, so for that and other reasons I asked to be home schooled, my mother had home schooled my sister so I decided I wanted this as well. I continued to attend band at the local school district (so I did get "socialization" and did have friends) but did all of my studies at home. This home studying has taught me great self discipline, and I believe has given me a superior education to that of my peers. In case you are wondering, there are two types of homeschooling, legal and illegal. I was legally taught, evaluated every year by a licensed teacher, and I have a high school diploma, which was mailed to my by the Secretary of Education of Pennsylvania. Not too shabby!
My Early Education
Being home schooled, I not only learned the same reading, writing and arithmetic as everyone else, but my education was supplemented by real life experience that most students of my age do not have (unfortunately). I learned so much about science, music, and mechanics that my friends from the local high school band would come to me with their questions, ranging from virtually every field of study, and if I could not answer them immediately, my educational resources were so immense, I could usually find a short answer by the next day, and write a thesis paper within a week (nobody ever requested that I do so however, which is good because I never would have gotten my real work done!). I was the token "smart kid", In fact my peers blindly entrusted me so much that with the help of a devious friend of mine, I was once able to convince a student that mixing two types of soda together would make them instantly freeze do to an endothermic chemical reaction! I generally was very honest, but a practical joke once in a while makes life interesting (and yes, I eventually came clean and told her the truth). When I was in high school I continued to play my trumpet, and actually started sounding good! I was a quiet person, but my marching ability made me a legend among the other students, and I made lots of friends. I also had an amazing experience in 11th grade, when my "useless talents" were discovered, not my trumpet playing, but my face tricks! I won third runner up in a national Pizza Hut contest (Pizza Hut's cheesy talent search), and got to appear on "Regis and Kelly", and "Fox and Friends" to display my talents with the other winners. It was an incredible experience and I shall never forget it. Later on that year, I got to appear on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, evidently someone from the show saw me on one of the other programs, and they called my house on Monday, and by Friday the same week I was on the show, I got paid this time (the easiest $550 I ever made!). So for an "unsocialized homeschooler" all of the sudden I became very popular. Here is a picture of me, my mom, my sister, and Jay. Not too bad for a redneck country boy!
My Private Research
Anyway, my private research I considered to be of just as much of educational value to me as my regular school work (possibly more). I dappled in numerous fields, everything I was interested in became an obsession to me. First I attempted to build a go cart, which didn't work so well, and in the end I bought one with saved money. I eventually ended up replacing just about every part, and squeezing an extra 20 miles an hour out of the little beast, and learned much about mechanics this way. Then there was electroplating, considered by some to be the most dull process the world has ever seen. But I needed the technology to do one of my other hobbies, musical instrument repair. I have become fairly proficient at this, and have even earned a little money along the way (If you ever read this Robbie, you owe me about thirty dollars, and I need it sometime soon!). After I had mastered these hobbies to the best of my ability (without going broke buying tools or chemicals) I moved onto different things, currently I am attempting to build a plasma ball, based off of a flyback transformer, this along with the Tesla coils I made are my most recent ventures, which I balance with college work.
My Jobs
I got my first job when I was in seventh grade, I worked for a farmer down the road picking and sorting various vegetables (pumpkins, gourds, apples etc.). To me, the work seemed brutal at the time, especially since my coworkers were much older than myself, and made the work look very easy. But the job taught me responsibility, and for the first time I had a source of income, which enabled me to take up hobbies which have become very important to me. Later on I got a job working at a greenhouse down the road, where I did a lot of planting seedlings. The work wasn't incredibly difficult, but It was tedious, and the conditions were horrific. If it wasn't 110 degrees, it was 32, and you were always wet and dirty (not to mention the faulty, broke down wiring, plumbing and building structure!). But this job not only gave me money, it taught me a lot of patience, many technical skills, and gave me a great sense of accomplishment, and looking back I can only remember the good times I had there. The people there were very interesting to put it mildly, and I had fun getting wet and dirty, and then bragging about withstanding the cold and heat! During high school and into my college years, I worked for an older friend of mine, who gave me trumpet lessons whilst I was younger. It was a very different working environment, I had many duties (I was a general handyman I guess) I had to mow the grass, trim the hedges, and I had to keep everything clean to his specifications. This was a real culture shock after working the farms. I eventually got used to it, and I learned that there is nothing wrong with being tidy. My primary duty at this job was a painter, he took care of three houses (his, his mothers, and an apartment house which he owned), so there was always something in need of a new coat (I got pretty good at it too). Another aspect of this job that I really enjoyed, is sometimes he would give me some of his television repair work. We would go on service calls, and diagnose the problem, or take the TV back to his shop. Occasionally I would get to replace a part or use some of his meters, it was cool. After I was done working for him, he gave me some of his old equipment, and I was very grateful. My latest job is more technical (sort of). I worked for Martz Technologies as an intern last summer. My technical duties were varied, but included PLC panel installation, schematic reading, making some Honeywell units "talk" to a computer, and other stuff that took me to three local factories and their local office. I had other duties as well. I believe that I was hired primarily to assist them in moving their office to the new building, which involved a lot of "grunt work" (carpentry, painting, a little plumbing, and a lot of cleaning and moving stuff), but I was used to this, and found the work enjoyable. I hope to work there next summer, but I am not sure if they will have a need for someone who is geared towards mechanics, and not electricity. Either way, it was a good experience.
My Secondary Education
As for my college experience I was accepted into Penn State University, and I took up studying mechanical engineering (no longer my major). I currently attend Penn State University at Harrisburg, before that I was at Penn State Hazleton. Since high school I had planned to go into the U.S. Army after college as a lieutenant through the ROTC program, but a foot problem has eliminated that course of action (for now!). I made a lot of good friends and contacts through that program, and I cherish the memories I made there. During my second year, they made me the PT sergeant, I was in charge of the daily workouts, and that was a cool experience for me (and kind of ironic, I never had any interest in "working out" during high school, I was always in decent shape however from being a farm worker). My major is now mechanical engineering technology, (it is like Mechanical engineering, but a little less mathy, and more hands on), which seems to suit me well, and I plan on graduating the spring of 2009.
When I was young, I used to enjoy going into the local swamps to hunt for frogs, and various other creatures. This was a favorite pastime of mine, and like any other child I loved to play. When I was in elementary school I took up playing the trumpet, which I still do to this day (I have become quite proficient if I dare say so myself). I also learned I had some more unusual talents which would lead to some interesting experiences later on in life, such talents included various face contortions which most kids attempt, but only a few accel at. When I was in middle school (6th grade) I was not well liked by most of the other students, so for that and other reasons I asked to be home schooled, my mother had home schooled my sister so I decided I wanted this as well. I continued to attend band at the local school district (so I did get "socialization" and did have friends) but did all of my studies at home. This home studying has taught me great self discipline, and I believe has given me a superior education to that of my peers. In case you are wondering, there are two types of homeschooling, legal and illegal. I was legally taught, evaluated every year by a licensed teacher, and I have a high school diploma, which was mailed to my by the Secretary of Education of Pennsylvania. Not too shabby!
My Early Education
Being home schooled, I not only learned the same reading, writing and arithmetic as everyone else, but my education was supplemented by real life experience that most students of my age do not have (unfortunately). I learned so much about science, music, and mechanics that my friends from the local high school band would come to me with their questions, ranging from virtually every field of study, and if I could not answer them immediately, my educational resources were so immense, I could usually find a short answer by the next day, and write a thesis paper within a week (nobody ever requested that I do so however, which is good because I never would have gotten my real work done!). I was the token "smart kid", In fact my peers blindly entrusted me so much that with the help of a devious friend of mine, I was once able to convince a student that mixing two types of soda together would make them instantly freeze do to an endothermic chemical reaction! I generally was very honest, but a practical joke once in a while makes life interesting (and yes, I eventually came clean and told her the truth). When I was in high school I continued to play my trumpet, and actually started sounding good! I was a quiet person, but my marching ability made me a legend among the other students, and I made lots of friends. I also had an amazing experience in 11th grade, when my "useless talents" were discovered, not my trumpet playing, but my face tricks! I won third runner up in a national Pizza Hut contest (Pizza Hut's cheesy talent search), and got to appear on "Regis and Kelly", and "Fox and Friends" to display my talents with the other winners. It was an incredible experience and I shall never forget it. Later on that year, I got to appear on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, evidently someone from the show saw me on one of the other programs, and they called my house on Monday, and by Friday the same week I was on the show, I got paid this time (the easiest $550 I ever made!). So for an "unsocialized homeschooler" all of the sudden I became very popular. Here is a picture of me, my mom, my sister, and Jay. Not too bad for a redneck country boy!
My Private Research
Anyway, my private research I considered to be of just as much of educational value to me as my regular school work (possibly more). I dappled in numerous fields, everything I was interested in became an obsession to me. First I attempted to build a go cart, which didn't work so well, and in the end I bought one with saved money. I eventually ended up replacing just about every part, and squeezing an extra 20 miles an hour out of the little beast, and learned much about mechanics this way. Then there was electroplating, considered by some to be the most dull process the world has ever seen. But I needed the technology to do one of my other hobbies, musical instrument repair. I have become fairly proficient at this, and have even earned a little money along the way (If you ever read this Robbie, you owe me about thirty dollars, and I need it sometime soon!). After I had mastered these hobbies to the best of my ability (without going broke buying tools or chemicals) I moved onto different things, currently I am attempting to build a plasma ball, based off of a flyback transformer, this along with the Tesla coils I made are my most recent ventures, which I balance with college work.
My Jobs
I got my first job when I was in seventh grade, I worked for a farmer down the road picking and sorting various vegetables (pumpkins, gourds, apples etc.). To me, the work seemed brutal at the time, especially since my coworkers were much older than myself, and made the work look very easy. But the job taught me responsibility, and for the first time I had a source of income, which enabled me to take up hobbies which have become very important to me. Later on I got a job working at a greenhouse down the road, where I did a lot of planting seedlings. The work wasn't incredibly difficult, but It was tedious, and the conditions were horrific. If it wasn't 110 degrees, it was 32, and you were always wet and dirty (not to mention the faulty, broke down wiring, plumbing and building structure!). But this job not only gave me money, it taught me a lot of patience, many technical skills, and gave me a great sense of accomplishment, and looking back I can only remember the good times I had there. The people there were very interesting to put it mildly, and I had fun getting wet and dirty, and then bragging about withstanding the cold and heat! During high school and into my college years, I worked for an older friend of mine, who gave me trumpet lessons whilst I was younger. It was a very different working environment, I had many duties (I was a general handyman I guess) I had to mow the grass, trim the hedges, and I had to keep everything clean to his specifications. This was a real culture shock after working the farms. I eventually got used to it, and I learned that there is nothing wrong with being tidy. My primary duty at this job was a painter, he took care of three houses (his, his mothers, and an apartment house which he owned), so there was always something in need of a new coat (I got pretty good at it too). Another aspect of this job that I really enjoyed, is sometimes he would give me some of his television repair work. We would go on service calls, and diagnose the problem, or take the TV back to his shop. Occasionally I would get to replace a part or use some of his meters, it was cool. After I was done working for him, he gave me some of his old equipment, and I was very grateful. My latest job is more technical (sort of). I worked for Martz Technologies as an intern last summer. My technical duties were varied, but included PLC panel installation, schematic reading, making some Honeywell units "talk" to a computer, and other stuff that took me to three local factories and their local office. I had other duties as well. I believe that I was hired primarily to assist them in moving their office to the new building, which involved a lot of "grunt work" (carpentry, painting, a little plumbing, and a lot of cleaning and moving stuff), but I was used to this, and found the work enjoyable. I hope to work there next summer, but I am not sure if they will have a need for someone who is geared towards mechanics, and not electricity. Either way, it was a good experience.
My Secondary Education
As for my college experience I was accepted into Penn State University, and I took up studying mechanical engineering (no longer my major). I currently attend Penn State University at Harrisburg, before that I was at Penn State Hazleton. Since high school I had planned to go into the U.S. Army after college as a lieutenant through the ROTC program, but a foot problem has eliminated that course of action (for now!). I made a lot of good friends and contacts through that program, and I cherish the memories I made there. During my second year, they made me the PT sergeant, I was in charge of the daily workouts, and that was a cool experience for me (and kind of ironic, I never had any interest in "working out" during high school, I was always in decent shape however from being a farm worker). My major is now mechanical engineering technology, (it is like Mechanical engineering, but a little less mathy, and more hands on), which seems to suit me well, and I plan on graduating the spring of 2009.