Hi I'm Nick
I was born and raised in a rural farm area of South Florida called the Redlands. I was raised by an interesting and loving family that consisted of artists, musicians, architects, and one of the founding members of the CIA. From an early age I was encouraged to read for leisure, draw, paint, always have a questioning attitude, and never take "because" as an answer. I enjoyed being outdoors and learned to multiply by counting rows of corn.
I enlisted in the United States Navy on April 8, 2001 and attended Recruit Training in Great Lakes Illinois followed by Hull Maintenance Technician "A" school. I was assigned to the Pacific fleet where I was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and again in 2005. I quickly rose through the ranks to become a First Class Petty Officer and was reassigned to duty aboard ships. I took charge of engineering plants, structural repairs, and most importantly junior personnel. Over the remaining years of my career I was assigned to multiple ships and depot level maintenance facilities working in industrial manufacturing. The majority of these assignments involved tracking and driving production, overseeing machinery maintenance, industrial safety program administration, and continuous process improvement through Lean Management and Six Sigma.
During my off hours from work I enjoyed volunteering with several charitable organizations and in 2015 I started a program that would allow Sailors and Marines to volunteer to deliver food for meals on wheels in Oceanside California. By 2017 258 military personnel had donated over 10,000 hours of their off-duty hours to feed those in need.
After retiring from the military on Friday July 16, 2021 I returned to work for the Department of Defense as a Civilian employee on Monday July 19, 2021. I worked as a Project Support Engineer for the Navy's new LCS program providing technical guidance to contractors performing repairs, upgrades, and overhauls. I went on to perform this job for the guided missile destroyer program in shipyard drydocks. In July of 2023 I decided to relocate to Middle Georgia to finish my degree and apply to graduate school.
