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As participants in this course each of you is an important member of a learning community. It might be good, in fact, to envision the class as a learning family. The more comfortable we are in communicating with each other, the better. I am asking each of you to submit a biographical sketch as a way to introduce yourself so we all may get to know one another better.

Please include your preferred online name and e-mail address. [For expediency I will use your UF e-mail address for all communications unless you strongly prefer that I use a different address.] Other than that you are free to include whatever pertinent biographical information you consider appropriate. The list of points below are offered only as suggestions.

1. Educational background and experience. Pursuing a degree at what level, and in what field? Academic major(s), if declared. Academic minor(s).
2. Current employment, if employed. Years of experience.
3. Future career goals.
4. Reason(s) for enrolling in this course.
5. Personal goals for the course. How you see the course having relevance and application to your job, career, or life in general.
6. Other interesting information you would like to share about yourself to help the instructor and other class members get to know you better.

During our online conversations you may refer to me as “Mr. Smith,” “Dr. Smith,” “Professor Smith,” or simply “Rich”—whatever you are most comfortable with. I have been teaching philosophy at The University of Findlay since 1979. My educational background includes a B.A. from Ohio State University, an M.A. from The University of Toledo, and a Ph.D. from Purdue University. Prior to coming to Findlay, I taught for three years in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Ball State University in Indiana.

I grew up on a farm in Northwest Ohio, about 20 miles west of Toledo. I am married, with two children and two grandchildren. Outside interests include golf, bicycling, traveling, spectator sports, and playing bridge and other card games.

I believe everyone has a unique potentiality shaped and influenced by many factors, and what we do with that potential ultimately is up to us. My personal motto could be expressed by saying we get out of life what we put into it.

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Student Roster & Biographies

PHIL 224.N1 (Winter Weekend 2004)

Listed Alphabetically

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Hello! My name is Elizabeth Backus (Liz, please). I am 29 years old, married, and have 3 boys. I am in pursuit of a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice with criminal analyst application. I hope, upon graduation, to become a part of the FBI, CIA, or US Marshals.

I believe this philosophy course will help me to acquire some fundamental reasoning skills, so that I may uncover ulterior avenues of investigation as a crime analyst. High school has been quite a while in the past, but I am looking forward to the opportunity to finally further my education....better late than never! 

I am a non-traditional student and have been attending the University of Findlay for 2 years now. I am working towards a Bachelors in Business and majoring in Operations and Logistics Management.

            I am currently a full time employee at the Cooper Tire Mold Operations Facility here in Findlay. I have been with the company for 8 years now and have held many position’s during that time. Starting as a Process Technologist I was later was promoted to CAM Programmer. Shortly thereafter I was promoted to Lead of the CAM Programming Department and to my current position of Supervisor in the Production Department.

            I am enrolled in this course because it is a required course for my degree completion. What I would hope to gain from this course is a broadened perspective of the different ideals and belief systems people have. I believe this would help me better understand why people feel, act and react to situations differently than I would expect, thereby making me more successful in challenging situations and resolving tough issues.

            I am married and have a 6 yr old daughter Brooke, and a 4 yr old son Ben. My interests are spending time with my family, golf, hunting, traveling, card playing, home renovation, and watching many types of sports programs. 

I am an elementary education student. I have been married for 13 years to my husband, Matt. We moved here from Pennsylvania when we were married, so that I could go to the University of Findlay. (As you can see, that was a long time ago!) I took time off to be Mom and now am ready to finish things up. I currently stay home with our three boys ages 10, 8 and 4. Being a Mom has helped me in my education of becoming a teacher. Education may be about Math, English and Science, but it is also about life! Three boys is LIFE!

My hobbies include sewing, reupholstering furniture and camping. Two years ago we bought a camper…..3 boys + a husband = camping. I love to camp now that I don’t have to sleep on the ground!!!! I am also the Director of Children’s Ministries at our church. I love being with kids…..so wherever that can happen…..I’m there!

            You can call me Bill online or in any email. That’s what I usually go by. I’ve been going to college off and on for the last 17 years. I served in the U.S. Air Force from 1990-1997. I’m pursuing a BA in Computer Science and I have no minors. Tower Automotive in Upper Sandusky where I live currently employs me. I’ve worked there for almost 6 ½ years.

            My future career goal is just to remove myself from factory life and do something I enjoy and where I can use my brain. I enrolled in this class because it’s part of my curriculum for my degree.

            I personally don’t know about goals for the course. Probably just try to understand some of what is taught and apply it to everyday life. This course has relevance to a lot of things in life. Philosophy and Ethics are part of the backbone of society. I think you can use it at work, play, and in your life.

            On home life, I’m married, my wife teaches special education at Upper Sandusky High School. I have a nine year old daughter whom I love spending time with. I enjoy golfing although my handicap is 18. I also love college football and following the local sports teams around Upper. That’s me in a nutshell. 

I am a non-conventional student employed at Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. My title is CAM Engineer and I have been employed there 7 years. At some point in the future I would like to go into the management field. Prior to my employment at Cooper I worked at Dana Coupled Products in Upper Sandusky as a Machinist.

            Some things I wish to learn in this course are anything that will help me in my current working environment as well as in my personal life.

            I moved to Ohio in 1985 and have lived in Upper Sandusky every since. Some of my interests are golfing, and watching sports in general.

 
Jay Canterbury –

I started my educational career at Bowling Green State University. However, I transferred to Findlay after I was married. I’m currently a senior majoring in Economics, and will graduate this fall. I’m a part-time student due to the fact I work a lot of hours and have two small children at home, Kayla, 3, and Ethan, 1. I’ve been working on average 55 hours a week as a Pricing Analyst for Hancor in Findlay over the past 4-years. My wife has been teaching in the Findlay City School system for 5 years. When I do manage to get some free time, I enjoy watching football and playing golf. I’ve been getting into home improvements lately, and I’m currently working on remodeling our master bathroom and 4 seasons room.

            My future goals include pursuing my master’s degree and continuing to advance in my current career. I think that my current position at Hancor has prepared me well for advancement as I’ve gotten familiar with many aspects of our company, from engineering and manufacturing to accounting and finance.

            I hope to achieve a better understanding of how ethics are becoming more a part of the workplace now more than ever as we continue to make advances in technology. Hopefully, the concepts that I learn in this class will prepare me more to make informed and practical decisions as I continue throughout my career.

Nathan Distel –

            I am 26 years old and married (no kids). My major is computer science. I am employed at the University of Findlay. I am taking this course to fulfill a requirement.

            My goals are to graduate and get a job in my major. In this class I hope to get some ethical and technological knowledge.

Teresa Dryden-Smith (drydensmitht@findlay.edu) –

Hello! I am a 30 year old Taurus and Interpersonal and Public Communications Major. This course is one of the last 2 needed for my degree completion. I am a Milford, Ohio native currently living in Gahanna, OH (near Columbus and Easton) with my husband, Jason, a Findlay native who is employed with Bank One as a stock broker at their corporate office.

I am have been employed with State Auto Insurance (no, not the company with the BAD, BAD commercials) as a Claims Representative for three years now. Prior to that, I worked as an insurance agent in Findlay for 2 years.

As a claims adjuster, I see daily examples of what I refer to as “mini-ethics tests”. Liability claims for property damage and bodily injury often show an interesting side of the persons involved. I feel this class would prove to be extremely beneficial to my field and also in life. Why do people deny liability when evidence, witnesses and state law all indicate they are negligent and the at fault party? It is sad to see so many people who are supposed “adults” try to steer clear of responsibilities for their actions. What causes these people to “tick”? Fear? Apathy? Annoyance at the thought of increased insurance rates?

On a less serious note, I am a huge University of Kentucky basketball fan. My husband and I are busy with our new house. Also, we are trying our first parenting attempt by raising a Boston Terrier puppy, Sammy. She runs our house; we are definitely in trouble when we have children!!!!

Throughout our six sessions you can call me Ben. I was born in Richmond, Indiana and lived in New Madison for the first two years of my life. Then my family and I moved to Bellevue, Ohio which is about 20 miles south of Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

I graduated from Bellevue Senior High School in June of 2002. After that I went on to college at the University of Toledo for 3 semesters. Just recently I transferred to the University of Findlay to play basketball though I still live here in Toledo. I plan to graduate college with a degree in Computer Science, which is a business major.

Other than school I enjoy playing basketball, golf, cards…just about anything that is or can be competitive.

I’m a Sr. Health Science student taking this course to fulfill my gen-ed requirement. I hope to be accepted into graduate PT school upon graduation following this term.

Jeremy Hark –

            During this online class please refer to me simply as Jeremy. I am currently a sophomore at the University of Findlay. I am pursuing a double major is business management and technology management. I graduated from Fostoria High School in 2002.

            I am from Fostoria, Ohio, which is located about 20 miles east of Findlay. I currently commute to Findlay for both school and work. I am the oldest of 3 siblings and also have an identical twin brother. My twin brother Josh also attends the University of Findlay.

My current place of employment is in the Home Entertainment department of the Findlay Wal-Mart. I am a sales associate and have worked at Wal-Mart for a little over a year. I work full time and attend school full time.

            I was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 21, 1983. Before I turned one year of age my family and I moved to Los Angeles, California where I lived for ten years; we than moved back to Ohio in Springfield where I have resided going on eleven years. I graduated from Kenton Ridge High School in 2001 and joined the Air National Guard. I went to basic training in San Antonio, Texas for six weeks, then moved on to Biloxi, Mississippi for my Technical training on computers for 14 weeks.

            I then returned home with prospects of going to Findlay to wrestle where I would have gone after High School but was disappointed at my state finish. So I decided to take a break and join the military. As I was accepted into Findlay and was on the team I realized that my love for the sport had diminished without being on the mat for almost two years. So I decided not to pursue my wrestling potential. I am now pursuing a major in computer science and maybe a second in technology management.

I am a non-traditional student working towards a Bachelor's degree in Technology Management. I have been in the work force for over 20 years. My current employment is at Ottawa-Glandorf Schools where I have been employed full-time for the last 18 years working in the Administrative Offices. This course will be beneficial because of my work-related technology responsibilities. By obtaining a degree, I hope to open new doors of opportunity

            For the online class, you can call me, “Jen,” “Jenny,” or “Jennifer.” Any of these will work. I am a sophomore at the University of Findlay, and my major is Technology Management with an emphasis in Criminal Justice. I work at Elder Beerman in both Lima, OH, and here in Findlay, (Lima is my hometown). Goals for my future career are to work for a police department, the FBI, or some other form of the criminal justice system’s technology and computers.

Laurel Rosebush –

I tend to go by Laurie but will answer to either. I grew up in Michigan but don’t participate in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry!! I am married with two grown children. We came here in 1981 after my husband graduated from Ferris State College and went to work. I think that I would be considered a non-traditional student since my daughter is also a student at the University.

My educational background consists of an associate degree from Lima Technical College in Computer Programming in 1983. I then transferred to Bowling Green State University and lost the equivalent of one year of my degree due to them not being accredited the same way. I took classes in Management Information Systems for about one year but ran into the same problem a lot of students do, lack of funds. I put school on hold and went to work. From 1986 to 1990 I worked at RCA/GE/Harris Corp. After being laid off from there I went to work in a manufacturing environment and stayed there for 10 years until making the choice to return to finish school and achieve my degree. I will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in Technology Management, barring any unforeseen catastrophes!

My future career goals would be to work somewhere within the medical field. I would really be interested in something to do with hospital administration, but would not rule out the possibility of working in any medical office setting.

I didn’t necessarily choose this class; it is part of my curriculum. At the same time I do see the relevance and importance of ethics in any job situation as well as in everyday life. I think that it is something that we come in contact with no matter where we work, or what type of job we do. I guess that what I’m looking for in this class is how to recognize and deal with ethical issues in the work place and everyday life.

I am a sophomore currently majoring in western equestrian studies and business management. I enrolled in this course to learn about the rapidly changing world of technology related ethics. I feel that taking this course will help me when I am asked to work with computers as part of my job.

I am pursuing Bachelor's Degree in Business with an Accounting Major—Graduation date: December 2004. I am currently employed as a Cash Reconcilement Specialist at Sky Trust, NA since January 1998.

As for future career goals, I am keeping my options open. I enrolled in this course because I needed a general elective for graduation. My personal goals for this course are to understand the ethics area more and how it pertains to my employment.

I have two daughters-ages 7 and 3 1/2 and I live here in Findlay.

I go by Keyli (pronounced kee lee). This will be the first time I have taken a blackboard class. And yes I am a little nervous and not quite sure about this kind of class.

I have worked at Whirlpool for 13 years. I am a Plastic Quality Tech and a back up supervisor. I am the mother of a 17,4 and 3 year old. And yes I keep very busy. I am majoring in business mgmt and hope to further myself at Whirlpool. I have 10 more classes to take to receive my degree.

I like to ski, rollerblade and read. Unfortunately, I do not get to do much of that anymore with 2 toddlers. Although I have started them on rollerskating (quite the workout on the arms for me!!).

Correy Stephens II –

I am a senior in Hospitality Management, graduating in May 2004. I am a Front Desk Clerk at Findlay Inn and Conference Center. I would like to work at a resort or restaurant in the south. I needed another philosophy class, and this one seemed interesting and should help me with decisions in management. I liked my first philosophy class.

            For our online class you can call me “Brad”, or “Bradley” it doesn’t matter to me, which you call me, I will answer to both. I have been attending the University of Findlay since fall of 2002, and currently am a sophomore. The major that I am pursuing right now is a bachelor’s in Technology Management with a concentration in the field of Information Assurance. I currently am not employed but hope to get a job at ITS. After school I hope to get a job for the government doing security work, possibly for the NSA.

I have enrolled in this course because it is necessary for my major, and to continue to other courses, I must take this one. I hope to get at least a “B” in this course, and learn what can be considered right and wrong in a technology sense. This is the first online course that I have enrolled in and hopefully not the last.