Nick Saylor:  

my freshman year. It gave me a feeling of pride when I was able to "prove" myself to others on the field, and that train of thought stuck with me throughout life. When it comes to my relationships in high school, there are so many things that I would love to be able to go back and do over. If I could go back: I would have never gone downtown to the career center; I would have applied myself to academics; I would have worked less and gotten more involved in school activities (wrestling and baseball); and I would have developed better relationships with people. If I did it all over again, I would have been more involved in the lives of the people around. These are things that I did not understand the importance of at that time. Strong relationships with my family, church, neighbors, and friends are important, and these are principles that my kids will grow up understanding...much thanks to the lessons that I was able to learn from my own experiences in life. College In 1994 I graduated from the University of Northwestern Ohio in Lima, OH. I recieved a diploma as a Diesel Technition and did not go very far with it. It eventually lead to my occupation in the Air Force in March of 1995. In the fall of 1998 I started taking classes at IPFW, full time for a couple years. I got about 73 credits out of the deal before I moved out the South Dakota in 2001 and changed my major from Elementary Education at IPFW to Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies at USD (University of South Dakota). I just recently graduated from the University of South Dakota in May of 2006 where I recieved a Bachelor of Science in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies and a minor in Criminal Justice. I graduated with a 3.4 GPA and had 142 well deserved credits. It took me a total of eight years to complete my bachelors degree and have no intentions on going for my Masters any time soon...unless I win Powerball. Workplace I've been working full time since the fall of 2001. I'm currently working for the State of South Dakota as a Level II Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor at the Mike Durfee State Penitentiary in Springfield, SD. I started this job in December 2004 and recieved a bachelors degree in this same area of study. Prior to working as a CD counselor I worked two and a half years as a Correctional Officer starting in March of 2002 at the South Dakota State Penitentary in Sioux Falls, SD. There I worked all levels of security, including maximum and death row inmates. During my time working at the penitentary, I took notice of the extensive abuse of alcohol and drugs among much of the inmate population. This led to my interest in chemical dependency. I majored in Alcohol and Drug Abuse studies, and I minored in Criminal Justice. Military Enlisted in United States Air Force from 1995 to 1998 (Active Duty) Technical School at Sheppard AFB in Witchita Falls, TX Occupation: F-15 Crew Chief (aircraft maintenance) Stationed: Eglin AFB, FL (95-98) The thing that I liked most about being enlisted in the military was living in Florida for two and a half years. I also loved the church that I went to in Niceville, FL. I had a lot of really good friends there. During my time there I had a lot of personal growth as well. I stayed clear of dating relationships during those years because I wanted my time in the military to be more of a learning experience and a time to develop good relationships with friends. Surprisingly enough, during my time in active duty I never left the states. I did two brief deployments to Los Vegas and Salt Lake City. I am proud of the fact that I served in the military, but I wasn't so proud during the time that I was in. Afterwards I came very close to rejoining in the guards, but my developing relationship with my current wife changed that. I served from March of 95' to March of 98'. I took the "early out" to come back to Ft. Wayne and go to college. College was a rough start, but I finally got it done.