Arlington School & Family Magazine April/May 2015 | Page 33

Jimmy Buffett when he was a young song-writer along the gulf coast. He chose his own path and has influenced many people around the world to take on life with a positive attitude and to not be afraid to go against the norm. GIVE US A BRIEF BIO OF YOUR CAREER. I think my career started with my first job in high school at Six Flags Over Texas. I used to work in the games section guessing age, weight and birthday (Yes, I was one of those guys and loved it!) This is when I was taught the true meaning of customer service as every guest deserved a positive experience in the park. This high school job helped mold my career. After graduating from the Mays Business School, I went to work for FedEx, handling large corporate accounts in the Dallas market. From there, I was given the opportunity to be one of 16 young business executives to be chosen out of 215,000 applicants to be on the inaugural season of The Apprentice. This is when I realized the city of Arlington would be my forever home. After traveling the country for work, I came back to Arlington and entered the HR outsourcing and consulting world where I currently serve Fortune 500 companies as the Texas large market executive for Aon Corporation, advising clients to offer innovative and effective solutions to their benefit plans. numerous AISD committees and then after many years was encouraged to run for the board in 2008. In my seven years, we have turned the AISD into one of the most progressive districts and one that is modeled by other districts in the state and country. † WHAT MAKES YOU SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THE AISD? Passion is easy when you realize you are doing it to give back to those who gave you so much. I received an amazing education from the AISD, and I want my child and other kids to receive the same. Education is the great equalizer and lets a child, regardless their previous situation, choose the path of success. I also saw many of my friends I grew up with not choosing to live in Arlington. They felt the district needed to be more progressive, which is hard to hear as someone who loves the city.My parents taught me to always become part of the solution instead of part of the problem and being the son of educators, I have an educator’s heart. So I got involved in April/May 2015 - Arlington School & Family 31