First Post: About Me

 Joshua Simmons is 36 years old so just a tad older than most of his fellow Marketing 223 classmates this fall. He has made massive changes towards bettering himself over the last 8 years. this effort has been prompted based of the fact that from spring of 2017 until release in spring of 2021 Joshua was incarcerated in the Oregon Department of Corrections. Joshua's college career started in fall 2019 when he was given the opportunity to attend college courses  through the College Inside Program offered by Chemeketa Community College. These classes where a chance to start to road towards becoming a new version of himself that he and his family could be proud of. this was when he began to tap into his potential he had been hearing he'd had so much of his entire life. All was going well until Covid 19 reared it ugly head catching him and the rest of the world by absolute surprise. when Covid happened all outside visitors where cancelled until further notice according to Oregon Department of Corrections. Unfortunately this lockdown order included all non-essential personnel ie. college instructors from continuing to teach at the prison, and the order stayed in place until the after he was be released from custody May 15th, 2024. Once released Joshua found out just how difficult his past was going to make life after release. After about a year and a half of finding a too few construction jobs his decision to continue what he'd started with college was made easier when a friend from the past who had also made mistakes came back into his life. She is now his future wife and his support while he is completing his college career. 

Joshua has now completed his Applied Science Degree in Automotive Technology. He is now prepared to take this next phase of his academic career to gain the tools necessary to succeed in the fast paced world of owning a small business. The idea came to him as a way to recover after the electric vehicles pilot program that he was planning on taking wasn't able to start this fall. Although this setback seemed to strike more than a little panic in him, Thanks to his advisor Mike LeBlanc a new academic solution proposed to Joshua.This solution being he'd instead take the  one year to get a professional business certificate. This would help to prepare him for the same future outcome of owning his own mobile technician business.

Joshua is hoping to take away from the Marketing class important components to creating a way to better present his future small business. It is important to him to enter this unknown side of the trade that is not based solely on the technical skill's to complete the tasks. Joshua knows that do this and absorb these crucial concepts of successfully creating, and maintaining his future business he must keep his mind open to fully take advantage of the unknown.

Joshua enjoy's to be challenged in both his professional life and his free time. this it why his hobbies include building and remodeling classic cars and houses. these two hobbies always have new challenges with each new project the comes his way. Joshua is not one to back down from challenges instead he relishes' a good challenge that will test his skills of problem solving.