My trek into the land surveying field is probably different than most people’s. I already had a degree in electronics and was working in Colorado when an accident happened that changed mine and my family’s lives forever. A backhoe fell on me and broke both my back and hip and had me laid up in bed wondering what I was going to do. I had asked a friend of mine if he were going to change professions what would he do. Of all things, he told me he would go into surveying. At the time, I had no idea what surveying was about, but little did I know that the best surveying school was located in Denver, Colorado; so, with four little kids and a wife at home, I enrolled in the next semester to start my new career (When God closes one door, he opens another).
I truly enjoy all aspects of the surveying profession, from the math, legal, CAD to the very cool “toys” that we get to use on a regular basis. When I started using GPS in the early 90’s, I thought that that would probably be the last thing I would have to learn within this profession. Much to my surprise, I was very wrong. I now oversee our drone LiDAR team at EHRA Engineering and the learning never stops.
Surveying is never dull and every project has its own unique challenges that I greatly enjoy. I’ve never once regretted changing professions and can honestly say that looking back, I am thankful for my accident and the new life that it brought me. Had the accident not happened, I would not be where I am today, nor would my three sons be in the surveying profession as well. My oldest son is an SIT and will be taking his RPLS exam soon. My middle son will soon be a junior party chief and my youngest is a survey CAD technician. God has truly blessed me and my family and I’m thankful every day for having found EHRA and the wonderful relationships that I have formed while working here. I guess my only regret is not having found this passion and EHRA earlier in my career.
