Narrated Summary of my Work History

High School Jobs

I have had to work from a very young age.� My real father died when I was 6 months old, and my mother divorced my stepfather when I was in high school.� My Mother�s income was about $13,000 / year, so it was necessary for me to help out after the divorce.

During high school, I had the following jobs in the following order, some overlapping:

Hay Hauler

I loaded and unloaded 70 pound bails of hay onto and off of pickup trucks and trailers into barns every summer.

Cashier

I worked at Betty�s Resale Shop in Willis, Texas.� She paid me $20 / day to fold, hang, and sell second hand clothing.� She had two store locations and she trusted me to watch one of her stores when I was 15 years old.

Cook

At age 16, I worked for Western Sizzlin as a food and salad bar attendant in Huntsville.

Safety Coordinator

At age 17, I started working at Burger King.� I moved from a cook to a cashier.� While working as a cashier, they made me their Safety Coordinator.� As Safety Coordinator, I was trained to inspect our location to make sure it lived up to OSHA standards.� I attended meetings in Houston on behalf of our store; I received a Sieko watch as award for maintaining standards.

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College Jobs

After graduating from New Waverly High School, I was still working at Burger King in the summer of 1993.� I was not satisfied knowing that I was not qualified to do much else.� About 3 days before the Fall semester began at Sam Houston State University, a�� coworker named Jody talked me into making an incredible change in my life.� She suggested that it was not to late to try and attend college at SHSU.

To this day, I can�t believe I talked the admissions office into letting me in, but after giving them my word that I would succeed, they let me in on academic probation.� I gave the school the $600 I had saved from working at Burger King, and two days later, I was attending classes.� My Mother couldn�t believe it.

I continued working for Burger King, while attending classes during the Fall of 1993.� At the end of the semester, I made good on my word with the admissions office, and my first semester was the last semester I saw academic probation.

Despite my successful first semester, I did not have the funds to attend the Spring 1994 semester.� I was determined to continue my education, and I didn�t care how long it took

to earn it.� It was my plan to work, save, and attend.� I planned to repeat this process as many times as necessary.

Welder�s Helper

From December of 1993 until March of 1994 I worked 70 hours a week as a hand at AES Environment.� This was the most physically demanding work of my life.� From before the sun came up, until after the sun went down, I was operating a heavy duty Black and Decker grinder.� The hand held tool probably weighed about 25 pounds, but by the end of a long workday, it seemed to weigh a hundred.� Equipped with earplugs, and a shield to cover my face, all day long I clinched the spark-throwing grinder, fearing the warnings of the coworkers who had been previously injured by the tool.� When I woke up in the morning my hands would be swollen shut.� I remember having to soak them in hot water to unlock the swollen joints.� The job had a high turn over rate; most people quit within the first week.� I too, wanted to quit.� I remember telling my Mother, �I don�t know if I can physically continue to do this.�� However, I soon learned how to make the grinder work for me, rather than me working for the grinder.� By lightening my grip and changing the angle the grinding stone approached the weld, I was able to become more productive with less physical exertion.

Correctional Officer

From March 14^th until April 14^th, 1994, I received 118.5 hours of training, from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, to become a correctional officer.� On May 16^th,� I got a job working at Ellis I, a maximum security death row prison in Riverside, Texas.� I worked their 3^rd shift from 9:45 pm until 6:00 am, exactly 41 hours and 15 minutes a week.� At the same time, I took summer classes at SHSU during the day.� This was my routine until August 15^th, 1994.

Best Delivery Systems

In late summer of 1994, I was presented an offer that I could not refuse.� Proving myself as a serious student, my Uncles on my Father�s side of the family, Ben and Ralph, hired me as a part time employee at their trucking company.� For subsidizing a significant portion of my education, they wanted me to learn all that I could in school, and then work for them a couple of years after graduation.� I am currently honoring their wishes. See work accomplishments.

The subsidy from my Uncles, the money I saved from working, and the following part time jobs, allowed me to continue my education on a tight budget.

Cook

In the Fall of 1994, I was a closing shift, short order cook at The Hop in New Waverly, Texas.

Computer Lab Assistant

Sam Houston State University.� Spring 1995 � Fall 1996.

�� Assist students with various computer software problems

�� Helped students with the operation of computers

�� Turn in reports on malfunctioning computers

Book Salesman

Barnes & Noble.� Spring 1997 � Fall 1997.

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In addition to these jobs, here are some jobs that I worked at off and on through out my college career:

Guitar Instructor

I gave hourly lessons to students who wanted to learn how to play the guitar.� I attracted students by revealing the simplicity of many of their favorite songs.� Through my demonstrations, the students were confident that they too, could learn to play.

Web Designer

I aided students in designing web pages that they were required to do as a class project.

Billiard Instructor

Instead of gambling, I gave hourly lessons to students who wanted to be proficient at pool and billiards.� I attracted students with my reputation as a pool player; I won 5 first place trophies competing in collegiate tournaments across the state of Texas.� I also won several cash tournaments in my local area.� This, along with flyers that I posted at the local pool haul, allowed me to earn a little spending money.

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