User:Jtsheppard

My name is Joe Sheppard. Currently, I teach K - 4 STEAM and High School Technology Education at a small rural school district in the Finger Lakes. My career has been incredibly varied and did not begin in education; although it was always my ambition to end up there.

I began my working life as a Theatrical Technician. As a theatre technician, I had several different positions working as a carpenter, electrician, draftsman, rigger, project manager, and stagehand. I was able to assist on many amazing productions, and have some amazing experiences that are proving to be extremely beneficial in my new role as a Technology / STEAM teacher. Additionally, working in theatre provided me with the opportunity to live and work in cities across the country including Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Miami, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Seattle, adding even more to an amazing repertoire of experiences to draw from in the classroom.

As the years went on and working in theatre became increasingly more difficult I chose to earn a Master's Degree in Public Administration with the goal of working for the federal government, specifically the Education Department, as I was living in D.C. at the time.

Unfortunately, after earning my MPA my daughter fell ill and my wife decided it was important that we move our family out of DC and come back home to Central NY to be near family. So, we did and I began working as a grant writer and data analyst for a small economic development company. While I enjoyed this work it was not fulfilling in the way that I was hoping it would be. So, I decided to return to school and use my knowledge and the experience gained working in theatre to become a Technology Teacher. My middle school tech teacher was the most influential teacher I had in my entire school career, giving me a love of tech work and being the spark I needed to go into technical theatre. I wanted to do the same for another child. Thankfully, I have now been given the opportunity.