Technical Skills:
1. Construction: 5+ years experience
Carpentry, electrical work, concrete
2. Concrete Pump Operation: 2 years experience
operating concrete pumps, including setup/teardown, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Working with concrete finishers and contractors.
3. Vehicle Operation:
Backhoe, mini-excavator, forklift operation, farming equipment operation experience.
Class A CDL with tanker, air brake, manual transmission endorsements.
4. Troubleshooting:
Significant systematic troubleshooting experience learned between a combination of
electrical training with the Marine Corps, construction, HVAC, farming, etc..
5. Microsoft Suite:
Much of my time in the Student Operations Position was spent creating reports and
dashboards from various data sources and compiling them using various Microsoft
applications. I have extensive experience using excel, excel power query, MS word,
PowerPoint, Word, Forms, Outlook, Power Automate, Power BI, Teams, SharePoint and
MS Project.
6. IBM COGNOS:
With the Student Operations position I also regularly used the data analysis software IBM
COGNOS, which is similar to Tableau and others.
Soft Skills:
1. Communication:
Was a formal school instructor for 5 years in the Marine Corps which required me to
successfully communicate highly technical concepts to students, while mentoring and
coaching them throughout their time in the training pipeline.
2. Problem-Solving:
I like use a six-step planning process that I learned in the Marine Corps to solve and
communicate complex problems: Problem framing, course of action development, course
of action testing, course of action comparison and decision, orders
development/communication plan, transition (rehearsal, further communication to
subordinates)
Problem solving should be a collaborative process when possible, and I employ input
from each relevant department/subdepartment that the problem affects to eventually end
with a successful solution.
3. Teamwork:
Good communication is usually required to have effective teamwork. When you have
good communication and teamwork, it makes problem-solving much easier. They all
work hand in hand.
When I was an instructor, I had to cultivate an environment of teamwork and healthy
competition. While I was a curriculum developer, I had to work with several different
departments to accomplish complex tasks such as, annual/semi-annual inspections of
courseware, completely new programs of instruction, instructor progression, awards,
student comprehension, etc.
Transferable Skills:
1. Time Management:
You may have 10 different things that are a “priority” to you or someone in charge of
you. However, if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. It is imperative to be
able to differentiate between and triage tasks into what needs to be done at this very
moment to what can wait until later.
When I was in the Instructor/Curriculum Developer and Student Operations Chief roles,
everything that came across my desk was a “priority” and I had to constantly filter and
use my time appropriately to accomplish the mission by the established deadlines. This
always demanded clear communication with the entities making the deadlines, and even
clearer communication with anyone outside of my direct control that I would need input
with to complete the project by the deadline. Then there always must be an additional
allotment of time for quality control.
2. Adaptability:
I think one of the great things about the Marine Corps is how it forces you to constantly
adapt. From changing stations every 3 years to the different sub-assignments you will do
in addition to your primary occupational specialty, it constantly requires you to adapt to
new and difficult situations.
Take my experience; I joined the Marine Corps thinking I would be working on
communication equipment. Not only did I do that, but throughout my time I also
effectively filled the roles of a teacher, recruiter, salesman, curriculum developer, security
guard, physical conditioning coach, operations manager, shipping and receiving clerk,
janitor, mechanic, administrative assistant, event planning coordinator, human resources
specialist, and many others I am sure I have forgotten. I had to adapt to all to succeed.
3. Attention to Detail:
From working with electrical components to teaching electrical theory, to quantifying,
calculating, and summarizing massive amounts of data in spreadsheets, I have always had
to maintain scrupulous attention to detail.
