My tech journey started at 13 years old on a Commodore VIC 20 and my mind was blown when the computer reacted and did things after my dad type in commands. That moment of “wait, I can make this thing do stuff?” pretty much sealed my fate.
I was hooked.
School and I didn’t get along, I dropped high school, earned my GED, tried college, successfully hacked their Unix server as a final project, and got kicked out when the professor who approved it left. Turns out you don’t need a diploma or a degree when you can actually do the work, and honestly, as it turns out, college is overrated anyway.
At 17, I got caught war-dialing to find free internet access. Instead of getting in trouble, the ISP owner hired me as their first network administrator. It was my first real job that I landed on my own. No networking, no “knowing people”, just me being the rebellious hacker teen that I was. Who would have thought that getting caught was the best thing that could happen to someone!
Since then, I’ve spent 30 years in the trenches: Linux systems, embedded controls for industrial controls, telecom security, DevOps, AI/ML, penetration testing, and pretty much anything else involving computers and solving real problems. I served in the Army National Guard, deployed to Iraq, and caught people hacking our networks there too (apparently it’s a theme).
I’ve built systems that saved companies millions, created tools that make complex tech accessible, and learned that the best solutions are usually the simplest ones. But here’s what I’ve really learned: technology is just a tool. What actually matters is using it to help people and being kind to people along the way.
These days, I’m focused on sharing what I’ve learned over three decades of real life work, whether that’s through testing new tech, teaching practical skills, or just helping someone understand something that seemed impossible five minutes ago.
Always learning. Always building. Always happy to help.
