Birth - 2002:
I was born on April 18, 1977 in Chattanooga, TN. When I was 5, my family and I moved to Phoenix, Arizona for my dad's job. I grew up there and graduated from Westview High School in 1995. My first year of college was at Northern Arizona University. I lived in the dorm rooms with my good friend Tom Schultz. I was studying Engineering at the time and enrolled in Air Force ROTC. College life was great and it took some adjusting to the new learning standards. I ended the year in debt and below average grades.

I moved back in with my parents the next school year and got a job as a bank teller. I worked my way out of debt while attending Glendale Community College where I was working on my general classes for Engineering. I pulled up my grades and made the Dean's List two consecutive semesters.

That summer while working as a lifeguard and a bank teller, my parents moved to New York. I moved in with a friend for the remainder of the summer.

When summer was over I moved to Mesa (East of Phoenix), Arizona and got an apartment with my two friends Scot Lossing and Dan Wilder. I attended Mesa Community College and was still working on my general Engineering classes. Again I was supporting myself trying to pay for school, rent, insurance, and utilities. I went into debt again and needed to find a new way to get my degree with as few bills as possible. My parents suggested I move to Hixson, TN where they still owned a house and was currently not being rented out. They agreed to not charging me rent as long as I stayed in school. I weighed the options and decided to move out to Tennessee. I had a horrible time moving to Hixson three weeks before classes began. I did not know a soul and I found myself very lonesome and depressed.

I enrolled in Engineering classes at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. Starting classes did not seem to allow me to make any new friends. I live half an hour away from campus and it seemed hard to meet people. Then I got a job at Applebee's as a server. I met a fellow server there who came to be a good friend named Anu Bhalla. I finally started to meet people and regained social contact. Anyone struggling to meet people should definitely get a job!

As I struggled to develop a mild social life, I also struggled to pass my Engineering classes. I found myself not understanding the concepts no matter how hard I tried and started feeling that I was heading down the wrong career path. I started to do some career research and stumbled upon Computer Science. I did not have much experience with computers and I never owned one of my own. I decided to go with it.

The decision to change my major to Computer Science seemed to fall into place. I also picked up a minor in Entrepreneurship. Classes were still hard but with the help of classmates and study groups it was possible to pass my classes.

2003:

I currently still live in Hixson, TN and have graduated from UTC with a Computer Science degree and a minor in Entrepreneurship in May 2003. I worked part time at Red Lobster in Hixson as a server and as an intern with TVA and made enough to pay for school, utilities, insurance, and a car payment. My passion for computers is obvious and I have an even stronger passion for websites and all the components that make them up. I think the thing that really attracts me to website design is the creative aspects of the graphics and applications used to create it. I have learned a lot about website design and e-commerce. I have built a total of 9 different websites with more to come.

On July 19th I married the love of my life my girlfriend of 3 years Kalee Kirby. It was a beautiful ceremony and many friends and relatives made it a joyful occasion. On July 28th the first day back to work after the honeymoon I became a full time employee with Tennessee Valley Authority as a Data Analyst.

Recently I have spent a lot of time on my newest entrepreneurial adventure of my first book "My College Tips". This is a book of college tips that I started to write during my last couple of years of college. I hope to have it out soon.

2004:

I love married life and my job is great. I worked very hard on my book and have designed a website for the book. In October I received my first printed copies of the book. I will be sending most of them away for reviews and other promotional opportunities. Others I have left I will try to sell.

2005:

Well a new year has come and I am busy as ever. I have been doing a lot of work on my book, designing some web sites on the side, and am working on setting up my own web site hosting service.

Book sales have not been what was expected and it has been near impossible to get the book into a distributor or wholesale company. I bought my first boat this summer so we can go out fishing, skiing, and wakeboarding.

In the fall I started back to school at UTC working on my MBA. It will take 10 classes to get my MBA. I plan on taking 2 classes every session and I should graduate May 2007.

2006:

Well this year started off busy. I am still in school working on my MBA and am taking summer classes. In May my wife and I bought our first home. It is a brand new home in a new subdivision. We love it. Book sales have slowed because I have not had much time to market my book but will be on News Channel 9 in August to discuss my book. In September Kalee and I took our first cruise and had a blast. It was an 8 day trip and stopped in 4 different cities in the eastern Caribbean. Oh, and I am still hosting, maintaining and designing websites for other people.

2007:

Again, this year started off very busy but it was the last semester of my MBA. I graduated in May from UTC and received two awards during my time. I won Distinguished Graduate Student form the College of Business and Outstanding Graduate Student from the Graduate School. My MBA was a lot of work but I learned a lot about business and being a leader. My wife and I got a new dog in March. She is a mini black and tan Dachshund. Her name is Sophie and she is very cute. She gets along well with our other mini B&T Bailey. Recently we have been doing some dog training and work around the house. Book sales have slowed but I will try to start marketing again in the up coming school year.

MY OFFER TO YOU:

If you would like to know more about me or would like me to answer a question you might have, then contact me. If you would like me to design a website for you or your business then contact me for my very low rates.

If you have read this far, then thanks for getting to know me.

Sincerely,

Jim Parker