I was born in Southern Pines, NC in the early 1960s. I joined the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school and retired after 22 years of service. Fourteen of those twenty-two years were spent in recruiting qualified individuals for various air force programs (enlisted, nurse, doctor, officer, etc.). During my time in the Air Force, I completed a BA degree in Human Resources. Immediately after retiring from the Air Force, I started my second career in education as an AFJROTC teacher. After five years in this position, I applied for the North Carolina Principal Fellowship program. I received the fellowship and began the two-year graduate program. A year after completing my master's degree in School Administration, I was hired in my first assistant principal job. I held an assistant principal position for eight years while taking some graduate courses in counseling. Throughout my time as a recruiter and as an educator I have had the honor of conversing with young people about their concerns, issues, career plans, etc. I have been married to a beautiful lady for 35 years and we have two grown children. This book is a partial culmination of those concerns young people have shared with me over the years, my raising two children with my wife, and an attempt to give back to society.
