John Cottam:  

Life Hi there. Living in Tampa now. I'm a Dermatologist with my own practice going on nine years. Picture taken in 1999.... I know i need a new one! Been through a lot of fun and a lot of work. Living with Lisa and her two children for 8 years. Took up golfing and having fun, travelling a bit and trying to stay in shape and stay away from the brutal Florida sun, though... Having a ball, working hard to hopefully retire early. When I got out of high school I had no idea what I wanted to do.. . so I wasted time for three years and worked oil rigs, seismic crews, picking rocks off graded fields for the City, shiftwork at MCgavin's bakery, etc.. and also learned what NOT to do (probably the best things I ever learned are those things NOT to do... In other words, I made some fairly major "mistakes" to say the least... they caused so much pain, self-doubt.... and then laughter and reflection...they have shaped my life and led me here, by accident it seems, and made me more understanding of those who fail... I was lucky.)... then... After a diploma in Engineering Science, (SAIT),working a couple of years in Engineering, then getting an Electrical Engg degree from Uof C with a computer minor, I moved from Calgary to Atlanta - Georgia Tech to do a Master's in Health Systems in '87.... then moved to Sarasota (South of Tampa) and worked in a hospital for a couple of years helping them be more efficient, before going to Medical School and residency for eight years... Worked hard to get the highest Board scores in my class, which allowed me to get into Dermatology. One thing I quickly learned at SAIT was that most V.B. grads could probably add (no exaggeration - I had to compete against all other school grads so I know their grades and how they matched up against VB grads) about 15-20% to your "average" grade at V...Expand for more