What are you planning to do after retirement?

“I’m going to ride my V Star 1100 motorcycle a lot. It’s a red piece of glory and wonder. My brother bought the same exact bike so we are going ride up the Appalachian Mountains together. I also plan on riding down to Southern California because I’ve got a couple of friends there. Then I plan on riding through the Bitterroot Mountains up in Northern Montana. It’s just going to be lots of fun.”

Why did you choose to get a certification in education?

“I’ve had some teachers in high school that have been pretty inspirational, but you don’t really think about that until you graduate. So let’s say you’ve just graduated college and when you think back to your days in high school you’ll really recognize which teachers have been inspirational to you. When I thought about my past teachers, I realized that they took the time that God gave them and made it purposeful. I thought to myself, with all the time God gave me, have I wasted it or have I used it. With teaching you’re not wasting any of it. You’re using the time and talents of whatever God you chose to worship had given you.”

Why did you change careers?

“At my prior job I was up in my office by myself most of the time. During that time period my wife had found a very, very small dot on my body and she strongly insisted that I get it checked out at the doctors. When he diagnosed me he said, ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s just a little piece of cancer.’ I thought back to myself, ‘At least it wasn’t brain cancer.’ As far as cancers go, it was a very small piece of cancer. After the visit I could only think about the fact that I could’ve died in my office and nobody would have even noticed. Then I had an agent of change, which means I was involved in a change whether it was good or bad. I went down to UNL and several months later I got my certificate to teach.”

Why did you join LSW?

“Honestly, I tried to throw the interview because I live a lot closer to a different high school. I obviously didn’t throw it very well. It took about three weeks for LSW to finally decide to hire me and once they did I felt like everyone wanted me here. I feel like everything turned out for the best. It’s kind of fun that you never really know why things are going to turn out the way they turn out.”