I have been happily married to my wife, Fran, for 40 years.  We have 6 children Nick, Veronica, Vincent, Andrew, Frank and David.  Nick and Veronica are both married to cousins Maddie and Joseph, respectively. Fran and I have 12 grandchildren from these two wonderful marriages.  We enjoy our Family.  Ultimately, it is for my family that I have decided to run for the SMSD Board.

Fran and I both grew up in New York City, Fran in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and me in Queens.  When we first married in June 1983, we headed out to South Bend Indiana where I began my graduate studies in Chemical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. Fran continued to work on her undergraduate degree in computer science at IUSB. After earning my Masters degree at Notre Dame, we packed up another U-Haul and headed to Baltimore, Maryland where I earned my Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, November 1987. My research was in the novel field of Supercritical Fluid Technology.  A classic example using this technology is the decaffeination of coffee.

We moved to New Jersey in 1987 and I worked as a chemical engineer at Union Carbide Corporation 1987-1989.  My love of teaching was always running through my veins, and so since then, I have taught at various schools ranging from middle school through college, both in private as well as public schools.  In July 2013, we moved to Kansas, and for these past ten years, I have been the middle school science teacher at Holy Trinity Catholic School, Lenexa.  In total I have been a science teacher for almost 40 years, including three years as chemical engineering professor at Manhattan College, my alma mater.  I have enjoyed these years of teaching.  I strive to teach students of all ages to reach for the stars as the expression goes – to be the best they can.  And this includes getting them prepared to be a valuable member of society. To be that, you need to be well educated in STEM.  And, most importantly, I always teach with a strong sense of my religious beliefs. 

I strive to help and to encourage students to love learning science/STEM.  I take this responsibility very seriously.  My goal as a teacher/professor is to have their knowledge increase daily.  Students need to understand that science/STEM play a role in their everyday lives, and my job is to help them see and understand this.  And then they can have a better grounding and be better informed about issues such as The Big Bang, Evolution, and Climate Change.

Teaching is my work, my career, but it takes the back seat to family.  My Family is My Life!  I have become increasingly frustrated over the course of about the past 25 years with how what is happening in society is negatively affecting my family and all families. And our quality of life.  So, my goal as a potential SMSD Board Member will be to help right the ship in whatever small way I can.