About Me

This is my third year in the Lincoln High Math Dept., but I have been around the school for a number of years now as a mentor and regular attendee of Lincoln High events. I have grown to love the culture here.

Prior to teaching at Lincoln High, I spent about seven years at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (don’t worry, I got a couple degrees out of the deal). I worked extensively with leadership development, mentoring, community service opportunities, and helping college students be successful.

A couple highlights of my work at UNL include a service trip to Ainsworth, NE to help local ranchers repair fence damaged by a wildfire (see below) and writing my thesis on how mentoring influences college student leadership development, which you can check out here. If you ever want to talk about leadership or how to prepare for college and be successful, let me know and I would be happy to help.

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Another thing that you should know about me is that I’m married to another Lincoln High member, Niki (Mrs. Barnes), who used to be an English teacher, but is now a counselor. I like to think that we form the “Dream Team,” but she tells me to keep dreaming.

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When I’m not teaching, I like to do a bunch of outdoor activities, including riding my bike, golfing, hiking, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. Below is a picture of a hiking trip I went on two summers ago where a couple friends and I climbed Mt. Bierstadt, which is 14,065 feet in elevation.

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Recently, I’ve gotten really into woodworking, as you might notice from some of the decorations in class. This will also be a source for many of the examples I use in class, so look forward to it.

Finally, you should know that where I grew up is much, much different than Lincoln. I am from Halsey, NE (population 76), which is smack-dab in the middle of nowhere. It also happens to be in the middle of the Sandhills, which, in my opinion, is some of the prettiest country on the face of this earth.

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The picture at the top of the page is actually of my family’s ranch. I grew up with cows, horses, dogs, cats, and chickens. I used to get up at 6 am to milk the cow before going to school. My summers were spent fixing fence, moving cows, chopping weeds, and whatever else my parents wanted me to do. I got my first job (meaning I finally got paid for it) at the age of 14 where I would work 12 hour days, 6 days a week on a tractor baling hay. Because of this, I enjoy the feeling of a hard day’s work, and subsequently expect a lot from my students.

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Oh, and just to put things in perspective, I graduated with a class of 13. This means that the classes I teach each period are about twice the size of what I graduated with. I knew everyone at my school, and most of their birthdays. I try to bring this same close-knit feel to my classes at Lincoln High. I want my students to feel like I know them and care deeply about their success.