Bradley Closs
Questionaire:
Address: 12118 Sudbury Court, Clarksville, MD 21029
Email: bradmj@verizon.net
Phone: 410 531-2118, cell 410 746-7142
Spouse: Mary Jo married 1979
Met at: I met Mary Jo through mutual friends. She was an elementary school teacher. She stayed in teaching – eventually working with Title I students at several elementary schools. She currently volunteers taking elementary age children on nature walks for the Howard County Conservancy
Niece: After graduation, I came to Maryland for my first job and lived with my aunt and uncle for a while. 46 years later, we were able to do the same thing for our niece, Katie, who moved here from Florida to launch her career.
College Major: EE, Studied for Masters in Computer Science at George Washington University to keep job in electrical design – got a new job so didn’t have to get the degree
Career: Westinghouse: Electrical engineering for a while, then operational software development for airborne radar (F4, F16, AWACS, B1). HP: computer customer support and consulting management
Worked for: Westinghouse (Defense Center) – 11 years airborne radar design engineering and operational software development (For Navy and Air Force). HP – 24 years – customer support and consulting management for local, east coast, US and world-wide organizations. Areas of responsibility included Customer Education, Account Support, Internet Security and Telecom. The HP field organization reorganized about every 2 years providing many different job opportunities. After early retirement from HP, Executive Director of a small local non-profit (Neighbor Ride) for 8 years – 400 volunteers providing transportation to seniors using their own vehicles.
Most interesting job: World-wide Internet Security Program Manager – when Internet security was not a “household word” and Non-Profit Executive Director – putting a small non-profit on a path to growth and sustainability.
Retired Spend Time: yes, Volunteering, working around the house, boating on the Chesapeake Bay, and enjoying the flexibility.
Where lived: Maryland
Interesting place visited: Honolulu, Hawaii (this year) and Prague, Czech Republic as part of world-wide job.
Greatest accomplishment since graduation : Made it this far
One thing you wish you knew: Much of what we learned in order to graduate wasn’t so useful in the “real” world of airborne military electronics. However, that education provided the foundation that enabled me to get hired and start a career. I never could have guessed where it would lead.
Favorite college memory: ? Living at 29 Bay Street and the great times we had. I’ll never forget using my ’60 Valiant that always started in winter (no engine compression) to help jump start all the high-performance cars that wouldn’t start. Gary helped with his older Chevy too
Favorite hobby: Boating on the Chesapeake Bay on our Sabreline 34.
News that stands out: I remember the class (and the professor) I was in when JFK was shot. Also, the northeast power outage while we were living at 29 Bay.
Friends anxious to see: All of them!
Health issues: Not yet
