Karen Lee:
CLASS OF 1984
Terry Parker High SchoolClass of 1984
Jacksonville, FL
University of Florida - Computer ScienceClass of 1989
Gainesville, FL
Karen's Story
Life
After high school, I attended the University of Florida for 6 years and completed a master's degree in computer science. Shortly after graduating college, I married my high school sweetheart, Robert Lee. We've been married for 14 years as of April 21, 2004 and have two beautiful daughters, ages 3 and 7. Professionally, I spent 10 years in the corporate world as a software engineer, project manager, lead designer, and group manager. Five years ago, I left that world for academia. Today, I'm happily employed as a professor of Computer Science at a local community college. I'll look a lot different to anyone who knew me in high school; somewhere in my mid twenties my figure changed from a skinny little twig into the spitting image of my mother - nice and round, especially in the middle! Robert and I are actively involved in our church and taught a Sunday School class for two-year-olds for eight years.
School
Most of my extra-curricular activities were pretty academic - things like science fair and brain brawl. I remember certain teachers I liked or got along with - Mr. Bennett, Mrs. Capella, Mrs. Stivers, Mrs. Boyd, Mrs. Ramage, Mrs. Cunningham, etc. I'm in regular contact with several of my friends from this era, but there are a few others I'd like to locate. I do remember high school as this anxiety-ridden, hormone-driven phase of my life and that's probably why I wouldn't like to repeat it. I'll probably always be something of a geek, but I became more socially adjusted in college and that's a time I probably would be willing to repeat. I've always enjoyed learning new things and I'm sure it contributed to my current career in education.
College
I completed two degrees at the University of Florida - a B.S. in Finance/Computer Science, and an M.S. in Computer Science. During that time I also worked for the university as a teaching assistant and taught several sections of an undergraduate programming course. I also did time as a unix system admin and programmer on a volunteer basis, as did most of the unix crowd in those days. I met one of my best friends -for-life at college, Lorraine Carte (aka Lorraine Seeley) from Tampa, FL. I chose the thesis option for my master's degree instead of the comprehensive test; my thesis subject was an artificial intelligence/production rule system project entitled "Retrograde Anal...Expand for more
ysis of Chess Games" or something really silly like that ;) In retrospect, I never got to use this research in a real job, nor do I expect to in the future. On the other hand, I'm always contemplating the idea of going back and getting a doctorate (but not until my children are a little older), so I guess another thesis may be in my distant future...
Workplace
I spent 10 years in a cubicle farm in corporate America. I burned out about 7 years into the process, right before I found out I was expecting my first child. I got really tired of carrying a beeper and being on call 24x7 - I routinely was woken up in the middle of the night, beeped at funerals, and contacted even when I was last on the call list. In year 9, I was forced into the management tract, even though I didn't want to be, and given a very difficult high-level executive as a customer. That's when I began to think about going back to school. I really enjoyed not only being a student, but also the time I spent as a teaching assistant. I went to an education fair in the lobby of my building and handed out my business card to most of the attending schools; I told them I wasn't interested in taking courses; instead, I was looking for a teaching position. I had no idea if it would work. The next morning, I came in to find 5 call backs waiting on voice mail. I wound up working for the smaller of the two area community colleges, St. Johns River Community College. SJRCC is the community college for Clay, St. Johns, and Putnam counties, while FCCJ's territory is Duval and Nassau. We have campuses in Orange Park (my main campus), St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, Palatka, and have begun offering courses out of Bartram Trail High School. I mainly teach computer programming courses, including web page design and development basics. Occasionally I also teach a business course or a software course if the school needs me to. I have primary control over my own schedule and work hours, never put in more than 40 hours a week, get 13 weeks of vacation a year, and never ever ever have to carry a beeper or be on-call. Furthermore, part of my job is to stay up to date on my skills and do research on new trends and technologies. This is something I never had time for in a big corporation. Needless to say, I'm a much happier person for all this, even though my take home is a good bit lower.
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