It’s been an interesting journey.
I entered my adulthood as soldier in the US Army. From there I transitioned to selling wine – wine of all things. And then, I left the wine business. I spent some time helping the mentally handicapped in the public sector after which I returned to the wine business.
My journey continued from the selling/marketing wine to importing and distributing to the retail industry and then to the real estate development business, residential and hotel/resort.
You would think my life’s trajectory was fairly settled and moving along, as it was…
You would be wrong.
As far back as I could remember, my passion has been science. As a young man, I moved away from that. And although I’ve fiddled around with websites, Popular Mechanics, and such; I never really thought about actually jumping back into that the world of science.
Until last year (4/2016). A convergence of issues gave me a chance to re-evaluate what I was doing, and more important, the opportunity to change.
So…
Since fall of 2016,
This is what I have been doing…
- Crammed two years of Associate Degree Education into one year and earned my Associate of Science Degree in Computer Science in May 2017. (With a cum of 3.87 and Phi Theta Kappa Honors – to the sound of patting myself on the back)
- Begun my Masters of Science in Computer Science at NJIT with projected graduation Dec 2018. The focus will be Database and Data Mining.
- Going full-bore on Mainframe Computing: Completed Parts 1, 2, and 3 of Master the Mainframe and its respective Badges
- Completed the 44 hours of Interskill – IBM Enterprise z Computing Essentials on-line course and its respective Badge.
- Blockchain – Finished IBM’s Blockchain foundation developer’s course and moving on to “Zero to Blockchain” course.
- Finished freeCodeCamp’s 450+ hour Front End Development course (built 10 projects as part of course requirement). Moving on to finishing 5 React projects.
- Participated in IBM/SHARE Hackathon in Providence, RI.
- Completed a 5 week COBOL mini-course consisting of formal classroom presentations, augmented by hands-on coding and execution of 6 different programs on an IBM System/Z mainframe. The final program required allocation and population of a VSAM KSDS master file using IDCAMS.
- Worked independently with my mentoring professor to become proficient in the use of ISPF and SDSF to maintain datasets, create JCL streams, code and test programs and evaluate results.
- Resolved problems in interfacing to the mainframe by persistence and analysis. Assessed and investigated errors and issues using IBM-supplied documentation and industry resources available on the Internet.
- And I am participating in the Unchain the Frame Virtual Hackathon. Our team is focusing on using Blockchain with Hyperledger Composer and Hyperledger Fabric on IBM Z and LinuxONE to create and innovate healthcare both in the US and globally.
- To build my knowledge base, I have completed the “Run blockchain technology on a Linux mainframe” Journey and working to complete the other 4 journeys.
I am absolutely and fully committed to becoming a software engineer. But, the true challenge is the frank reality that I am starting late. My passion and drive will take back seat to no one regardless of age. Nevertheless, reality is what reality is…
Because bull rushing through can leave me with a knowledge base and skill level that’s a “mile wide and an inch deep.” To this end, I am using a variety of sources to go deeper. I am learning and reinforcing with:
- Ionic (AngularJS) (several online sources)
- Advance Javascript with Udemy
- C++ coding challenges with HackerRank
- PHP and MySql (several online sources)
And the deeper I dive, the more excited I get…
Because…
Science is what inspires me.
Although I have been honored to know and learn from the fine people I have met in past. And while I am proud of what I have accomplished and the experiences I have had…
I am so excited for what the future holds. For the new people I will meet and learn from. For accomplishments and experiences yet to come.
This is the path that will bring together all the problem-solving skills I have learned and honed over the years with the passion of doing what I enjoy most.
Song by Timbuk 3 starts, “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades…”
Sounds about right!
By the way…
Those problem-solving skills, this is how I got them:
This is what I used to do…
Operations Manager, and de facto President – Kingstown Blue Spring Resorts, Ltd.
In short, I ran two operations. One was in New Zealand. Our objective there was to build resort on the grounds of an historic hotel. Although the hotel had a rich history and a good reputation, it also had a number of issues. I moved the development along two tracks. The first track was to elevate the hotel itself to a “world class” operation.
- Put together a first team of senior managers and executive chef to overhaul hotel operations.
- Implemented best practices and benchmarking that took the hotel from 0 stars to 3+ stars on New Zealand’s Qualmark certification on first try. In fact, hotel was only a couple of tweaks away from 4 star level. A worthy accomplishment for all involved from General Manager to Grounds.
- Sales and Marketing push that steadily increased hotel monthly revenue by 102%, average daily rate by 66% and RevPar by 42%, with hotel occupancy rate hitting 72% by end of year one.
- Renovated and updated hotel property.
- Elevated hotel’s stature and reputation by partnering and sponsoring events such Miss Supermodel New Zealand.
Second Track was to develop the resort:
- Oversaw Land Survey Analysis and Map development.
- Navigated federal, regional, and local statutes and ordinances.
- Initiated Engineering study for hydro and geothermal generated electricity.
- Coordinated development of Master Plan.
The second operation was residential housing development in Southern California. Among the things I initiated involved:
- Commissioning Engineering study to redraw previously approved Tentative Map to account for changes in city statute.
- Meeting with city planning department heads to gain approval.
- Coordinating Final Plan.
Store Manager – Kmart
While Kmart, I held a number of positions that included store coach or general store manager and hardlines manager. I was involved with stores in Maryland, USA and Hawaii, USA. As Hardlines Manager, I ran Health&Beauty Department, Sporting Goods, Hardware/DIY, Electronics, Garden/Seasonal to name a few. Of course as GSM, I had ran the whole building.
Although I could regurgitate a laundry list of accomplishments while at Kmart (see resume for some of those), the most important accomplish was in understanding that customer service is problem-solving.
The customers come into Kmart (or anywhere) because they have a problem (call it need). That problem could be wanting something and not having enough cash or resources. It could be anything. And it was my job to help solve that problem for them. It was my job to train and show my people how to solve a customer’s problem.
And really, in all that I have done – in sales, retail, hospitality, and more – it’s always been about solving problems. It’s always about understanding what the needs are, what the obstacles are, what the opportunities are and solving them.
Other positions…
- Sales Manager, HCK Wine Company – Florida, USA
- Proprietor, Rose’s Wine Shop – Korea
- President, Shindong Wine Company – Korea
- Marketing Manager, EJ Gallo Winery – Korea
- Captain, US Army
More stuff I’ve done…
- Formulated and implemented multiple start-up business plans for Specialty Wine Shops in Korea.
- Relaunched and revitalized Shindong Wine Company by negotiating long-term contract with major wineries from major wine regions.
- Envisioned and led successful strategic initiative for national launch of Shindong Wine.
- Lead team managers in developing and implementing a comprehensive business manual and standard operating procedures.
- Formulated and implemented sales/marketing strategy for Korea that captured 8% of the total imported wine market for Korea within 3 years.
- Crafted product introduction/launch strategy/strategies.
- Drove new account growth and sales revenue in every sales position with diligent research and “relentless” customer service.
- US Army.
Done a lot…
Looking to do a whole lot more…
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