What degree are you pursuing at the KSU iSchool?
Master of Science in Knowledge Management
Tell us a little bit about your academic and/or professional background and area(s) of focus.
Joined the military in 1998 as a Marine Firefighter. Learned a lot about the way different groups of people shared their ideas to allow firefighters to better and more safely complete their jobs. People worked with industries to identify areas that would be safe for firefighters to cut, bend, and work on. I got out of the Marine Corps in 2002 and started working contracts in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Knowledge there was shared for contracts, but nothing else. I returned to the States as I was completing my Bachelor of Science in Public Safety Administration. I graduated with honors as being part of the national honor society Alpha Chi with Summa Cum Laude distinction. I joined the National Guard as an Officer and it wasn’t until I went to FT Gordon and met Keith Davis that I realized what the fire departments were doing was knowledge management and I wanted to do more, as it enabled people to work faster and better. I deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, where I developed a way to do training online for the Information Management Course, which allowed soldiers to have elevated rights on computes.
I moved to Augusta,GA in 2013 and worked at the Cyber CoE for a year. I picked up a contract working at Joint Force Headquarters Cyber (Army) in Nov 2014 and have been with them since. I wanted to better myself in knowledge management so I started on my degree in 2018. I went to the Army qualifier School for KM, Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, and took the certificate courses at KM Institute for the Certified Knowledge Manager (CKM), Certified Knowledge Specialist in Knowledge Transfer and Information Architecture, and finally i did a project to receive the Master of CKM.
Professional affiliations:
VFW, American Legion, Signal Corps and the Signal Regimental Association, Cyber Regiment
Describe recent project(s) or research that you’ve been working on.
I am working on two projects to finish my degree. One is a research paper about a process to better classification and data transfer in the army. It will create a cost avoidance of $20,572,774 in manning hours with an average salary of $100,355 annually.
The second project I am working on is Crisis Management Calendar deconfliction. It goes over the different products and processes to align meetings with the business objectives to avoid wasteful meetings.
What iSchool class(es) have you enjoyed the most?
I’ve enjoyed the UX courses the most so far. The understanding of why a universal design is better than accessibility options. A well designed item will vastly outperform one that is designed around a specific needs group.
What issues related to information interest you most?
Shareability. It is one thing to find something you are looking for, but not to be able to access frustrates me.
Are there any websites, apps, podcasts or other resources you’d recommend other students explore?
Specifically no. What I would say is for every 2 podcasts, websites, apps, or resources you spend your time on, do 1 for fun. Life is a balance and too much of something you do not do for fun will set the precedence for your life. Find the balance of fun, work, and life to succeed.
If you had one superpower:
Time stop.
How do you like to spend time outside of work?
I like to ride motorcycles, swim, hunt, fish, and watch Sci Fi such as Dr Who.
How do you balance school with work and/or home life?
Since a true balance is never achieved, I try to make quality time with family since work is a straight amount of time.
What career paths are you considering?
I am pursuing a way to increase Knowledge Management.
Do you have any other advice for other students?
Try to get all your homework and discussion areas done as early as possible, since you do not know what will come up for the weekend. Too many students wait until the weekend to do those and rush to get them done in time.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Say hi, thank you, and help out any chance you get. You never know if that is the next person to change your life.
