Upon graduation from WCC, the next step was to build on what I had gained from the WCC Latin program with more intensive work in languages, so I headed off to Berkeley for a summer course in ancient Greek, followed by a master’s program in classics at the University of Kentucky.  Because of the incredible latinists Terence Tunberg and Milena Minkova, UK is one of very few places where you may take graduate-level classes entirely in Latin.  We spoke Latin everywhere: in our homes, in hallways and offices, on walks and at restaurants.  I loved it.

UK is also where I received my first sustained taste of teaching Latin.  I was glad to continue teaching – this time Introduction to Philosophy – during my PhD program at Marquette University.  They allowed graduate instructors remarkable freedom in our syllabus design, which I exploited to the fullest to craft a course on the philosophy of friendship.  For many students, this would be their only philosophy class, so my aim was to establish the habits of conversing and writing clearly about virtue, happiness, and true friendship.  One of the most popular elements of each semester was memorizing poetry on the theme of friendship, a practice which I stole from WCC (and John Senior, of course).

Just as I finished my coursework and the doctoral qualification process (which comes right before a dissertation) at Marquette, I stepped away from academia.  I began a job at Anchor Group NetSuite Consultants, a company under the aegis of the Brotherhood of St. Joseph, a fledgling fraternity of Catholic men who seek to work, pray, and form themselves in community.  Over the next several years I dove into solving business challenges within the context of ERP software (which you could think of as the technological medium in and through which a business operates most of its functions, such as accounting, inventory and warehouse management, sales, websites, etc.,).  In time I was asked to lead the ERP department as VP.  Now I spend most of my time training and guiding, clarifying company vision, and thinking about how we can work more excellently.

When life allows, I still teach Latin for the Veterum Sapientiae Institute, in an effort to foster an intellectual life alongside my utilitarian day job.  I live in Madison, WI with my wife Miriam and our two delightful daughters.