Good afternoon everyone,

I want to begin by saying thank you. After 22 years as a professor of computer science, it’s hard to put into words what this place and the people here have meant to me. What I can say with complete certainty is this: you folks have been the nicest people I have ever worked with.

When I first arrived at GTCC, I thought I was coming here to teach algorithms, programming, and systems design. And yes, I spent a lot of years explaining recursion, debugging code, and convincing students that backups are not optional. But somewhere along the way, this place became much more than a workplace. It became a community, a second home, and a source of friendships I will always treasure.

One of the great privileges of teaching computer science has been watching students grow from nervous beginners into confident problem-solvers. I’ve seen technology change dramatically over these two decades—from floppy disks and overhead projectors to cloud computing and AI—but the most important thing never changed: the curiosity and determination of our students and the dedication of the people who support them.

I’ve also been incredibly fortunate to work alongside faculty and staff who care deeply about education and about one another. Universities run on more than budgets and technology; they run on kindness, patience, teamwork, and people willing to help each other through long semesters and unexpected challenges. This institution has always had those qualities in abundance.

As for retirement, people keep asking me what I plan to do with all my free time. I can assure you I won’t be sitting still for very long. I’m looking forward to playing more chess tournaments, where I hope my strategic thinking will finally pay off a little better than it sometimes did in faculty meetings. We plan to do some traveling and see places that have been sitting on our “someday” list for years. And perhaps most importantly, we intend to spend some peaceful days canoeing down the New River, enjoying a slower pace and remembering that not every journey needs a deadline or a grading rubric.

Of course, retirement is bittersweet. I will miss the daily conversations, the laughter in the hallways, the excitement of students discovering something new, and even the occasional chaos that comes with academic life. But I leave feeling grateful and proud—proud to have spent 22 years at GTCC, proud of what we have built together, and confident that the future here is bright.

Please continue to uphold the good name of GTCC. Keep supporting one another, keep challenging students to think critically and creatively, and keep remembering that education changes lives in ways we may never fully see.

Thank you for your friendship, your support, your humor, and your patience over the years. Thank you for making these 22 years some of the most meaningful of my life.

And finally, as any computer science professor should say before signing off: if you ever run into problems, try turning it off and back on again.

Thank you all very much.