t o m p e r c o n t i

I just returned from a wonderful but way too short trip (all/part of 5 days) to Daytona Florida. Some father/son time with Tom and his graduation from WyoTech Institute. What made the occasion more special than something like this typically is was the dramatic transformation that Tom underwent over these last 10 months.

He went from being a good kid who hung out with the wrong crowd, doing the wrong things, going in the wrong direction, exhibiting the wrong attitude, to an energetic, enthusiastic, determined, disciplined, positive-thinking, independent young man who is driven to succeed in life with a sky's-the-limit attitude.

Tom and I got to spend a lot of father/son time… catching up on things… talking about life… talking about the future. Graduation was terrific. He graduated with “Honors”, 1 of only 10 from a class of 130 to do so. (Honors requires a 3.80 or higher GPA, Tom’s was 4.0)

Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyways) I’m extremely proud of Tom and all that he has accomplished over these last 9-10 months. It was a long string of on-his-own "firsts" for him. Arranging for tuition, applying to the school, arranging for a place to live, living on his own, living in a strange place, attending and completing a demanding (8+ hours a day) technical training program for 9 months with excellence (it doesn’t get better than a 4.0), dealing with curveballs that life threw his way, all with a positive attitude is nothing short of miraculous.