Scott Sutherland:
CLASS OF 1980
Gainesville High SchoolClass of 1980
Gainesville, FL
University of TennesseeClass of 1985
Chattanooga, TN
Scott's Story
Life
The short and long of it. I live in Haverhill, MA, just north of Boston, with my wife of 13 years, Suzan, and our 2 kids, Jennifer (almost 10) and Kyle (8 1/2). I work for General Electric's Homeland Security division, designing portable instruments for narcotics, explosives, chemical, and biological agent detection.
I lived 9 years in San Diego and hope to go back there soon. I hate shovelling snow (duh!) and weather cold enough to freeze my power steering fluid.
School
Boy, now THIS could get embarassing... I'll use the questions provided as a starting point. Biggest crush...Johanna Reneke. Did not really get inspired by teachers in HS. Most embarassing moment was Lisa Tosi and the Spanish Conference (sounds like a good Hardy Boys novel...). Some of my happiest moments were playing on the tennis team (at least when I won) and the good friends I met at band camp (oops, that's American Pie, not me...), I mean Spanish Conference. Hosting and winning senior year was really something.
Funniest times...Los Aztecas!!
College
My recollection of my first college roommate was when I returned home for Christmas break my Freshman year. I went to school in Chattanooga, TN and my roommate was from West Virginia. My family and friends all asked me where I got the Southern accent when I came home that Xmas. My best roommate became my best friend. I remember nights where we tried to polish off a large pepperoni pizza between the 2 of us as fast as we could.
Learned volleyball and became the starting setter in my first year. I was in the best shape of my life, only due to 3 hour/day workouts and 6 hours on Saturday. Helped me win a Halloween costume contest as Tarzan.
Class trips to NYC...on a bus...20 hours...non-stop. ...Expand for more
Yes, you CAN sleep in a greyhound bus luggage rack!
Met my wife my sophomore year.
My worst all-nighter was for an Art/Music class. Don't laugh. This was for academic scholarship students (top of the school) and no one got A's. I recall listening to music clips, playing 'name that tune in 5 notes', and memorizing hundreds of paintings, photos, etc.. The night of the final, we pulled an all nighter, then I took a No-Doz caffeine pill just before the exam. Never again, but you had to be there.
First days of Spring...concerts on the lawn...good times.
Workplace
After high school...college (5 years, chemistry and physics)...Grad School (5 years, one at Stanford, 4 at UF, chemistry, where I was at the 10th reunion)...a Post Doc at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory...which led to my first 'real' job in 1992 and a move to San Diego, CA. I spent 9 years designing portable laser-based instruments for identifying unknown chemicals for enviornmental testing, pharmaceutical analysis, and illicit narcotics. Then I left sunny Southern California for the great white north...NO, not Canada...Boston (close enough). I continue to develop portable instruments, but now for General Electric and for use in Homeland Security applications.
My wife got her BS in boloogy and chemistry, MS, and Ph.D. in molecular biology, spent some time at the Salk Institute in San Diego (yes, that is Jonas Salk, the polio vaccine guy). Then she got tired of being a lab rat and wanted more interaction with people. She combined the two by becoming a technical support person at a biochemical supply company, then moving into product management, where she continues today. Where I have only 2 products to focus on, she manages thousands...How does she do it?
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