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My family grew up on the coast of Washington
State, in the Columbia Gorge. I have three
brothers and a sister. We lived on top of a basalt
cliff overlooking the river, making for
spectacular views. We had plenty of activities
growing up, building an architectural wonder of a
house, swinging on our tire swing over the
precipice, making a clubhouse down in the cracks
of the basalt columns. We built a couple of small
sailboats so we could go out on the river and
chase the ships cruising upriver from the ocean,
and playing dodge-boat tag on the river.
My
dad was a top engineer in the aluminum refining
industry. He traveled around the world as a
casting process consultant. He taught us that all
people around the world share the same globe, that
we are more similar than we are different, and
that we can have friends anywhere.
My
mother gave up a scholarship in musical
performance to become a teacher She passed those
musical talents to her children. We all played
instruments in school: for me it was the violin.
After college, I was part of an instrumental
group, playing bass, recording and performing for
a couple of years. It was a great way to see the
rest of the world.
I came back to
Washington State to pursue my career in
engineering. Now I am building big projects that
ensure pollution-free electrical generation, while
mitigating the impact on the native animals. My
job is entertaining - not only do I get to mess
around with giant-size hardware, but the
office-mate antics make every day seem like an
episode of a Seinfeld episode.
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