My name is Richie, I have an amazingly awesome wife and two kiddos who are growing up way, way too fast. And we have a doggo named Emma.
My Career Path
I have been blessed to work in several career fields in my professional life. Early on I worked in web design and development as an intern with a state agency, then as an employee with several small IT companies, as an independent contractor, and as a very small business owner.
Next came my military career. I served on active duty in the United States Air Force for 8.5 years. For six of those years I was an F-15 tactical aircraft mechanic, serving at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom and at Eglin AFB in Florida. I then retrained to intelligence, serving as an imagery analyst at Beale AFB in California. I separated from active duty and served in the US Air Force Reserve as an F-16 tactical aircraft mechanic for four years at NAS JRB Fort Worth in Texas.
After serving my country, I answered a different call and served in the church as a youth minister. We moved from California to Texas where I was the family life and youth minister at the Westside Church of Christ in Alvin for almost five years. From there we moved on to Tennessee where I was the youth and family minister at the Rivergate Church of Christ in Madison.
After things didn’t work out too well at Rivergate, I’m now looking to move on to the next adventure! Eventually I want to go into private practice as a counselor/therapist, but I’m still in graduate school. So I’m looking for work in the mental health field in some way, right now I’m applying to case manager, intake coordinator, or similar roles.
Higher Education Journey
I attended several colleges and universities on my path to higher education. Some of those changes were out of necessity, some were due to lack of motivation, some were due to changes in career and circumstance. I attended Faulkner University, Troy State University of Montgomery, South University, Trident Technical College, Embry Riddle University, and finally Amridge University. It was at Amridge I finally earned a Bachelor of Science in Ministry/Bible, and am currently enrolled working toward a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling.