William Daniels:
CLASS OF 1973
East High SchoolClass of 1973
Kansas city, MO
William's Story
My last year at East was spent looking for the next party until I realized it was time to grow up. Left Missouri to join the Navy and thrived during my six-year, distinguished career in submarines. Chose the DoD "contractor's life" (Raytheon, Scientific-Atlanta, Smiths Aerospace) for many years; raised three kids; flirted with disaster in the form of terrorism, the weather, and war in the Middle East.
Life, as I knew it, changed in January 2000 when I had an epiphany after a near-death experience. I was on travel (working) in San Diego before spending three weeks in the hospital; the first week on a respirator. Divorced shortly after and relocated from Charlestown, a town of 25,000 on the Southern Coast of Rhode Island, to Germantown, Maryland. This was in early 2001 after I transitioned from US Navy contractor (tech rep) to work in the International Avionics community (UK, UAE, Egypt, & NATO) as a software test engineer. I lasted almost 2 years in a job that wasn't very fulfilling before deciding to go back to college. Unlike my High School performance, I earned the number one spot in my graduating class (2007) then set my sights on a government position and I'm now working as an analyst at the National Science Foundation (an independent federal agency) near Washington, DC. Much of the "scientific programming" that (I hope) you watch on TV or in your local IMAX theater is funded by us. My particular slice of science is Materials Research; we fund research in the physical sciences for programs that range from Polymers to Ceramics, Research Centers, National Facilities (High-Magnetic Field Lab in Florida, Light Sources at Wisconsin, Cornell, etc.), to the Condensed Matter and Materials Theory programs. I'm in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) and share this area with Physics, Math, Astronomy, and Chemistry. They aren't all geeks but some days I do question whether they're human.
When I travel the world now it's purely for pleasure. I can take advantage of the sights, sounds, and experiences (unlike the years spent as a "road-warrior"). I thought that I would miss the challenging assignments I accepted as a contractor, racing to make a commitment in a far-away place but now I realize just how many opportunities I've ...Expand for more
let slip from my grasp during those years traveling to all those places.
Since 2003 I've been to Italy (Florence, Venice, and Piza; and yes I saw the leaning tower. Standing next to it is a surreal experience that no camera can capture!), France (driving to the top of a mountain overlooking the coastline of Marseille, a sheer drop, several thousand feet to the water below), Turkey (strolling through Istanbul, having a drink two hunded feet up in a sixth century tower), Scotland, Puerto Rico, Spain, Canary Islands, and Japan. Just returned from Phuket, Thailand (remnants of the tidal wave still remain) where my wife was giving a talk during ICCES 2009 (International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences). I attended the conference as "the spouse" where my duties consisted of searching for local fare while photographing the country and its people. Of course there were many trips around the US including several to the Hawaiian Islands where I still have friends both in and out of the Navy.
I mentioned a wife, I'm now married to the woman of my dreams. We share a great life with four dogs and a pot-bellied pig named Olive. Joan and I met one Tuesday evening back in 2001 after she walked into the club where I was teaching Salsa. I was in a work study program in my spare time at the Ballroom Dance Company (I joined to get my lessons for free). These days we don't go out dancing as often as we'd like but we do share a common passion for our animals, our land, renovating and remodeling, and enjoying the many friends we have at home and abroad.
Currently I'm attending graduate school at The George Washington University. Organizational Theory and Economics are testing my ability to multi-task with a full-time job and the animals to contend with when I come home, but if Joan has her way I may have to continue and get that PhD she feels is within my reach. I'm not as convinced but making the kids call me "Doctor" does sound appealing.
We flew back to KC to attend the "event" of 2009 but only a handful of classmates came. Not sure what happened to the rest of the class but my guess is that your lives are as busy as mine.
I hope you are all doing well and thriving in whatever endeavors you choose to pursue.
Cheers,
Bill
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