About Me: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Hello and Welcome!
This blog is an interesting way to start a class. Typically, I am used to the standard forum posts that remain tucked quietly behind the Oregon State lock and key. But, here I am for the world to see. Bring it on internet creepers! :)
I am originally from Titusville, Florida. We were famous for absolutely nothing except a little thing called the Space Program and NASA. I grew up feeling the walls shake as we sent countless space shuttles on various missions into the deep dark void of space. That seems like a lifetime ago now. I am soon-to-be 34 and currently live in Eastern North Carolina. I have spent the last sixteen years of my life on Active Duty in the Marine Corps. I am a Signals Intelligence Communicator by trade and have spent many of those years working in various capacities furthering the cyber defense/offense capabilities of the Marine Corps.
Despite being a part of a very unique and challenging field, I am nearing the twenty-year retirement mark and will be looking to make a shift into the Environmental sector. I am working towards my Bachelors in Environmental Economics and Policy. I hope to use this as a stepping stone for a Masters in Public Policy and would like to land somewhere in the federal policy development world.
When I am not stuck working in my office or locked away at work in a building with no windows, I am the father to two wonderful children and husband to the best mom those kids could hope for. I enjoy fishing of all kinds and recently started learning to golf. The latter of which is almost comical to see in action. (Its much more difficult than I ever imagined to hit a ball with a stick). I also enjoy woodworking and pyrography. During COVID, I started woodburning and tied my passion for fishing into it by making commemorative woodburning items related to fishing. They are fairly realistic recreations of memorable catches. It helped to pass the hours in lockdown and tied together two passions I already had. As an added bonus, there was a surprising market for folks looking for a unique way to commemorate a big catch or a first catch with their kid, so it turned out to be very profitable!
I think the most interesting part of this course for me will be getting the perspective of folks from all different backgrounds. As someone who is fairly well-versed in cyber security policy and practice, I enjoy seeing what other folks have experienced. One topic I am particularly interested in is the weaponization of social media that occurred over the last 6-7 years throughout the globe. I am currently reading "Like War" and it discusses the development of this non-attributable "weapon system" in our culture.
I use all components of online communication in one way or another. I have hosted personal blogs before to share experiences when I hiked portions of the Appalachian Trail. I use email daily at work. I use Etsy to sell my Pyrography, and I used LiveJournal, GeoCities, and MySpace (yup, I'm old) when they still had a pulse. Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram are my current stomping grounds for networking and keeping in touch with family and friends. And despite being an older student, I used twitter and snapchat while I was recruiting for the Marine Corps for three years.
One goal I have as I take this course is to stay relevant. I feel that I have been trained in the military mindset and that often deviates from where/how the civilian sector handles business and communicates with one another. Our communication tends to be concise and terse (edging on rude) and would likely not be tolerated in many civilian workforces. I am different than most being that I was a recruiter for so long and worked with students, teachers and community leaders very heavily. So, I want to ensure I maintain that mindset.
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