Robert Collins:
CLASS OF 1988
Chenango Valley Central High SchoolClass of 1988
Binghamton, NY
Salisbury State UniversityClass of 1992
Salisbury, MD
Robert's Story
Life
I currently am back in Binghamton for the time being. I was the Market Development Manager for American Driveline, a synthesis of AAMCO Transmissions and Cottman Transmission, working in the Company's Home Office also in Horsham, Pennsylvania. I also lived in the Syracuse area for 2 years, Florida for 3 years, Maryland for 2, the Albany area for 3, the Philadelphia area for a year, and lingered around Binghamton in-between. I am still as single as ever was, no kids, no paternity suits or appearances on Maury for that matter. I have a BS in Geography from Salisbury (formerly State) University in Maryland and a MA in Urban Planning & Geography from Binghamton University. I served on the New York State Council for Geographic Information Systems from 1995-1996, as well as other GIS-related State Workgroups in New York State. I have presented at a few conferences and love what I do for a living. Contrary to what the haters out there believe (and I know there are many of them - mostly female), I have never been incarcirated, charged for anything beyond a traffic ticket, and guess what - I am back & better than ever... I am in Binghamton every so often and can been seen around town.
College
I went to Salisbury State University on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where I had some wild times (okay, I was inebriated more times than not), put up with the constant stench of chicken crap (the home of Perdue chicken), and was involved in several activities. I was the Undergraduate Assistant Basketball coach for the #2 ranked team in NCAA Division III my Senior year - it was definitely a character builder that teaches you more than any classroom lesson. I was also in a Top 5 school in my major: Geography & Regional Planning, and though I may not have graduated high in my class - I applied a lot of what I learned in Graduate school and my professional life. I was also President of my Residence Hall Council. After graduating from Salisbury, and a little constant nagging from my Mom (thanks Mom) I enrolled in Graduate School at Binghamton University - a longshot for a dumb schmuck from Nimmons...Expand for more
burg who barely survived CV) and it was probably the best thing I ever did. I entered as a non-matriculated student who had to prove himself requiring higher grads than my best semester of undergrad to be fully admitted - and you know what I did - I did it. I actually earned honors and was inducted into Gamma Theta Upsilon, the International Honor Society for Geographers. By the time I was done at BU, they were paying me to go there, as I was on a full-ride assistantship where they covered my tuition and was paying me a stipend to be the Assistant Planner for Johnson City. As for furthering my education, I have taken several certification courses in my profession, a Marketing class at Oswego State, and some Project Management certification courses as well.
Workplace
Well, my working life started out as a paperboy in Nimmonsburg way back when. During breaks in college I was a full-service gas station attendant (probably one of the last ones on Front St), worked landscaping, assembly line, maintenance, and even was a substitute teacher in Binghamton for awhile. My real career started during grad school at Binghamton U where I interned for Hawk Engineering and then earned an Assistantship as the Assistant Planner for Johnson City. My career has taken me to places like Syracuse, Sarasota, Florida, Lakeland, Florida, Southern Maryland, Albany after 9-11, here to Philly twice and another stint in Syracuse in between. For the past 12 years I have been involved with Geographic Information Systems on all levels from a grunt data builder, to an analyst, to a project implementer to a project manager in recent years. I have mapped just about everything under the sun, from tax parcels, to street networks, to military facilities for emergency management, to stormwater systems in Florida, to customers, to livestock and the food supply for New York State from store to source and everything in between, to parking lots and garages in Center City Philadelphia, to utilities, and now I map out potential areas to open new AAMCO centers nationwide. My career has evolved as the technology has improved.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!
Photos
