About Me
Michael Ricketts
It may seem odd that the oldest teacher at a school is their technology teacher, but I did not come to teaching in any sense of the word traditional. I became a computer programmer at the age of 17 in the United States Air Force. Originally, I programmed in Honeywell Assembler language on punch cards, a definite relic of the past. I am from Northwest Alabama, so I joined the Air Force to see the world. After basic training, I requested to be stationed in Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, or Turkey. I cannot tell you the feeling I had when I received my orders to the Air Force computer systems design center at (dramatic pause) Gunter Air Force Station in Montgomery, Alabama. I spent four years at Gunter, but it was an incredible learning experience, and training that was not available to many outside of the Department of Defense.
After leaving the Air Force, I had an incredible career working in state government with the Tennessee Office of Information Resources as a programmer, Mobius Management Systems as a Senior Systems Engineer, Columbia/Hospital Corporation of America as Manager of Operations Support, Xerox as a Senior Systems Engineer, the New York Times Regional Entertainment Group as a Systems Designer and Analyst, and then as a Senior Analyst and Network Technician for Colbert County School, which brought me back home after a whirlwind of a career.
I had spent sixteen years with Colbert County in Technology when they decided to open a Career and Technical Education course in Information Technology for the county. During that time, I decided to get my Bachelor's Degree. I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0-grade point average from the University of West Alabama in May of 2019 at the age of 50. I sort of lived my life backward. I did the job and then got the education.
In July of the same year, Colbert County Schools decided to start an Information Technology program in their Career and Technical Education department. I applied for the job and started my career as an educator. I am in my fourth year of teaching, and I love every minute of it. During the 2021-2022 school year, I served on the Governor's Course of Study Committee and Task Force to help rewrite the Alabama Career Tech Standards for Information Technology. This was a great honor to be able to give my input on what today's students need to learn to succeed in Information Technology.
I am currently working on my Master of Education Degree in Career and Technical Education at Athens State University. I am really excited about what the future has in store for me and the world of technology.
I had to throw in some "old people are bad at technology" humor below. I really hope I never get to that point.