Q: What made you get involved with video production? 

A: When I was in college, they started a new course in video production, which I took and I really enjoyed, then when I was student teaching, I was able to student teach at two different schools: Peters Township Middle School and Canon-McMillan High School and both of those schools had television production classes where they did morning announcements throughout the building. Working with those kids in those programs, I  thought that this is really neat. This is something that I wanted to do especially at that middle school level. I mean, I figured if eighth graders can do this, we can teach any kid to do this on a high school level, so it was really those experiences that sort of drove me to want to get more involved in, you know, this type of program.

Q: Have you ever taught at any other school or just Shaler throughout your whole career?

A: No. My first teaching position was a long term, substitute position at Plum High School. I just taught a standard woodshop class. From there, my first full time job was at Butler Intermediate School and I taught there for a year: teaching: metalworking, robotics, plastics technology. After my first year at Butler, I came to teach electronics and engineering classes at Shaler. Video production classes did not exist whenever I came here.

Q:  What was your first car?

A:  My first car was a 1986 Nissan pickup.

Q: What is your favorite student slang you’ve ever heard in any years of teaching?

A:  The one that sticks out to me the most is the “my bad”. It just doesn’t make sense to me. It’s like you’re calling yourself bad, I find it even more ridiculous when I hear adults saying it.

Q: If you can meet anyone dead or alive, who would you want to meet? 

A: Tom Hanks. I just find him to be a very good actor. He is somebody who can play many different roles, but still has a down to earth personality. He doesn’t put himself above others. I think it’d be kind of neat to sit down and talk with him.

Q: If you could give any advice to your younger self, what would it be? 

A: Save money. I wish I would have saved money earlier on.

Q: What was your most irresponsible purchase?

A: Probably my second vehicle that I ever purchased was one of my most irresponsible purchases because it just didn’t work out the way I wanted. I ended up having to sell it and go back to my first vehicle.

Q: What was your second vehicle to make it your most irresponsible purchase?

A: It was a Ford pickup. It was a bigger full size F-250 pickup that I probably didn’t need just wanted. I realized that afterwards.